A Hopeless Cause
by Pheek
Summary: AU. Everyone says it's hopeless. That you should just live the life that you've been given. Me? I'm here to save the world. PlzR&R
1. Gone Astray

**Hello people! This is a plot bunny that has been bitting me for a while. So, I finally decieded to post it.**

**Full Summary:**

**Extreme AU. Vlad was exposed and became ruler of the world when Danny was about four. His family went into hidding. His parents wanted to help to try to stop Vlad, so when Danny was fourteen, his parents made a Ghost Portal. Danny tried to get it work, but in the process, he became a half ghost. He tried to hide his powers for a while, but eventually ran away, not wanting to deal with what his parents would do to him. Danny never met Sam or Tucker, he didn't know anybody from Amity Park for that matter. He had no friends. No body to take him in. He was on his own.**

**Two years later, Vlad is taking out people of power, in Miami, the Jeremy and Pamela Manson are killed, leaving there daughter, Samantha Manson on the run. When hiding in Miami, she meets six other teens, consisting of Tucker Foley, Valerie Gray, Dash Baxter, Kwan Sie, and Star Delisle, and Paulina Sanchez. Together they go back to Amity Park.**

**The group is then taken through a serious of crazy adventures. They begin seeing a black-haired boy like everyday, but every time they try to approah him, he mysteriously disapears. And what is with this new ghost kid? Does he have something to do with the black-haired boy? Will Vlad ever be taken out of control? And if so, how? All of these questions and more will be answered in my new Fanfic, A Hopeless Cause. Rated T for safety. Please R&R.**

**I want to throw out a big thank to one of my two editorial muses HorseLady! Thank you so much!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: Going Astray <strong>

I began to snivel as I silently walked out of my previous home. I turned the corner and went ghost. I then flew off into my old home to see the faces I'd learned to love. I saw my mom and dad in bed. I gave them each a kiss on the cheek and they both smiled unconsciously. I finally came across my sister, and I couldn't stop but I let out a tear and I sniveled at her. She then looked around, still awake and reading, but she didn't know I was there, being that I was invisible. Jazz, my sister, who finally thought that she was hearing things, went back to her book. I then flew off, knowing I would never be able to see their faces again. I knew I couldn't ever go back. Never. They would never be able to accept the truth. You see, my problems started about ten years ago, when I was four…

I still remember that day. My family, the rest of the town of Marshfield, Wisconsin, and even people from all over the world showed up to see what a middle aged man named Vlad Masters, also the mayor of our city, was about to do to save the Earth. You see, we were all about to be attacked by a giant asteroid thing. It didn't make sense to me at the time, but now it was clearer then glass. Vlad gave a very good speech from what I could remember, and then he did something that surprised everybody-he turned into a ghost. He then said that he would save the Earth by turning the asteroid intangible, but for a heavy cost. He would get to be ruler of the world. Being that it was our only choice; the people of Earth took up his deal. So, his plan commenced, and he was given a shuttle to fly up to the asteroid.

While he was up in space, my parents took my sister and me from our home of Marshfield. I protested several times, not understanding at the time why we had to leave. When I got a bit older, we moved again. I didn't know it at the time, but we were on the run. Eventually, my parents explained to me that Vlad use to be a good friend of theirs, and when they were in college, there was an accident that turned him into what they called a halfa. Being that my parents had always hunted ghosts, I wasn't at all surprised that that's what they did in college. The accident must have had something to do with their research… Anyways, they said that Vlad blamed them for it. They never explained the accident further, they always just said accident.

So, we kept moving, and eventually, when I was fourteen, my parents started a project in the back room of our apartment. They called it a Ghost Portal and that if it worked, Earth might have a chance at getting rid of Vlad. Finally, they had finished it, and brought my sister and me into the room to see it. The thing was massive. It was a large hole in the wall - how they fit it into our apartment still boggles me. My dad then picked up two cords and said a few words that I didn't really pay much attention to. Although, now I am regretting all the things my parents did that I just rolled my eyes at and didn't pay much attention to. Anyways, once my dad put the two plugs together, the thing sparked and then nothing. Not even a hint of ectoplasm or anything for that matter. My parents were so depressed that they went to bed early. My sister just shrugged it off. I knew that she felt bad for them, but she knew that there was nothing she could to help. She then left the room and went to her bedroom and read or something.

I on the other hand, looked at it for a second. I wasn't sure what I should do. So, alone in the lab, I stared at the portal for a second. I then thought, maybe it is working, and it just doesn't look like anything. I decided to test out my hypothesis. Despite that this was one of the stupidest decisions of my adolescence, I did at least put on a hazmat suit. I actually thought it was pretty cool looking. It was a mainly white suit with black boots, gloves, and neck collar. The thing I didn't like about it was the fact that it had my dad's face on it. I was easily able to rip his face of. I then stepped into the portal. It turned out that my clumsiness had been my fatal error, or half fatal error. I tripped on a few wires and hit some sort of button. Of course, my parents put the on switch on the inside. The thing began to power on, and I struggled to try to get out. It took me almost fifteen seconds to get my foot out of the wires. Just as I was standing up, the portal turned on. I felt pain unlike any other. I tried to scream, but my voice wouldn't work. Which was probably why nobody knew what happened.

It felt like I was being electrocuted, scratch that, I actually was being electrocuted. It felt like every molecule was slowly being tortured by a merciless soul. It was probably the most painful thing I had ever endured. After going through this pain for almost a minute, I passed out.

The next thing I remember is looking up at the ceiling of our back room. I sat up. I immediately grabbed my head, being that I had a horrible headache. When I grabbed it, I noticed three things: 1. My glove was now white, 2. The main part of my suit was black, and 3. Due to some of my hair falling in front of my face, I noticed it was snow white. I quickly got up and began to back up in shock, I then bumped into a table, and when I turned around, I saw a mirror. There, I saw an even worse horror. My eyes weren't there regular sky blue, they were a toxic green. I then backed up again. I crumpled up against the wall. I put my arms around my legs. A tear formed in my now green eyes. I felt very, very cold. I didn't need to be smart to be able to see what I had become. I was a gh-ghost. Another tear went down my cheek. As I sat there I began to think about what my parents would think of me. I tried to tell myself that they would still love me, but, all the facts were against me. I knew they never would. And if I was a ghost, that meant I was…was…dead. I was dead. I then broke down crying even more. I then hung my head further and I began to feel a little warmer. I began to embrace the warmth further. I let it spread all over my body. And while giving into the warmth, I fell asleep.

The next morning, I was awakened by my mom nudging my leg, and saying, "Honey, are you okay? You must have fallen asleep in here last night after we left. Your father and I have something to show you." I then looked up at her. I wasn't sure how she thought that I was still alive, but she seemed to not notice anything wrong, so I nodded and said I was fine. She then stood up and stuck out her hand and helped me up. When I brought my hand up and took hers, I noticed I was back to normal. No hazmat suit. As she walked over to my dad, I looked down at myself; I noticed everything was back to normal, my jeans, shoes, and T-shirt. I let some of my floppy hair fall in front of my eyes. Black. It was black. Black! I then ran to the mirror and saw that my eyes were the same icy blue. I remember thinking that I must have just dreamt everything that happened. But, my fantasy was short-lived, because I then saw the portal. It was on. On. My parents were jumping for joy, and I was shocked, again, but this time, not literally. I was dumbfounded.

I tried to hide my halfa self from my family. But, it was very hard. I spent about a half of a year more with them. I spent it learning to control my powers. My parents had seen my alter ego, Danny Phantom, as I called myself, and they had become sworn enemies against "him". They had said many times, "He is such a horrible putrid protoplasm," or, "He has such nerve flying around here, it is a sin for him to even exist!" These comments and more added to me leaving, but, one day my parents almost figured me out when they made a ghost tracker. It lead them straight to me. Due to their stubbornness, they made no connection. But, I knew that one more thing like this would push them over the edge. I made the hard decision to leave. And it wasn't their rants that got to me, it was that ghost tracker. So, I ran, or I should say flew away.

That's basically what happened. I knew they would never love me if they knew my secret. Man, how screwed up life can be. I don't know where I am going to go. Maybe I could go to some cave or the Ghost Zone. I felt kind of like I was betraying my parents, but I had no choice. It would be better this way. They would never have to deal with me again. Me, Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom. I flew with no goal in mind, a heart ripped into shreds, and eyes drowned in tears. I had no future. No family. No friends. Everything probably would have been better had I never existed…

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, that was long. Thanks for reading. This was kind of just something to start it off. I hope you liked it! But, I won't know unless you review!<strong>

**Please review!**


	2. Death of Loved Ones

**Hey people! This didn't get as popular as I thought it would, but for all of you who reviewed/favorited/followed, I thank you guys greatly. You are all awesome!**

**And don't worry you fans of A Fruit Loop's Reign, I will have that updated soon.**

**I also want to throw out a big thanks to my editorial muse RandomSharkAttack! **

**Just going to throw this out here, I am looking for a Beta for this story. It needs to be somebody who really knows there Danny Phantom facts. So if you are interested, or know of somebody who might be, please tell me in your review. Thanks!**

**Just so you know, the way this story is working is that the first three chapters are kind of like the introduction. After that, hold on to your keyboard and mouse because you are in for an extremely wrong thriller!**

**Disclaimer: Man, I hate these things. They always make me feel so diminutive. I don't own Danny Phantom. That's the sad truth. I really don't own much of anything. Heck, I only partially own this computer (it was a present to my siblings and I). Oh well, on with the fic.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Death of Loved Ones<strong>

**(Two Years After Danny's Accident)**

I suppose we should have seen it coming. My parents just wouldn't accept the truth. We were being hunted, just like every other rich family. You see, my name is Sam Manson. My family and I were some of the richest people in the country. We were the ones who inherited the money from my ancestor Izzy, he was the one who invented the 'the machine that twirls the cellophane around the toothpicks'. Everybody knew our name.

Now what is the problem with being rich? Besides the social nightmare with fake friends, our world's ruler since I was four, Vlad Plasmius/Masters, was seeking out every powerful family and eliminating them. Because, apparently we would all supposedly band together and take him down. Which, I thought was an excellent idea and that we should go through with it. But, if you have ever seen how a bunch of rich snots fight, lets just say they could get beat up and sent to the hospital by a bunch of yellow belts. They'd probably be trying to load knives into guns. **(Little Stargate SG-1 joke with Daniel Jackson.) **Anyways, rich people and combat do not go together.

I have actually been training myself, though. You'd be surprised what people post on You Tube. My parents think it is waste of time. Despite the fact that once King Vlad finally decide to kill us, and that we would stand a chance, stode out like a turd in a punch bowl, my parents ignored it completely. I have tried to talk sense into them many times. They just call me a troubled child every time and waved me off.

And was I a troubled child? Yeah, I guess. I was a pretty rebellious sixteen year old girl with no friends. At age twelve I became a Goth. My parents about wanted to strangle me right then and there. A little while later, I became ultra-recyclo-vegetarian. My parents didn't know what to do after that one. They even tried to get me into therapy, but they never succeeded.

Let me try to explain parents to you. They are what you call the ultimate optimistic day people. I was cursed to them being a creature of the night. Their names are Jeremy and Pamela. They wear extremely bright primary colors. These kinds of things make me worry about my dad… Anyways, they are against anything I do or get into. If they had it their way, I would be wearing bright pink floral dresses and my short naturally black hair would be long, died blond, and up in funky styles. Like I said before, they never paid much attention to any of my warnings, no matter how hard I tried. Maybe if they did, they would still be here today…

It started off like any other day. My parents got up at 7:00 A.M. and began opening blinds. By 7:05, they are in my dark room and opening my blinds to wake me up. Being that we live in Miami, Florida, the sun comes up nice and early. As soon they open the blinds, my room is flooded by an intensely bright light. "Sammy, get up! It's time to start another excellent day!" my mom exclaimed in her high pitch girly voice. Tell me if I'm wrong, but is that hard to call a girl SAM! I mean really! I've told her about a million times.

I pulled the dark black covers over my head, but that did not stop them. They pulled my sheets down and forced me to get up. As I got up and put my feet into my black bat slippers, they told me to come down stairs for breakfast in in five minutes. I grumbled as I walked drowsily into my walk in closet. I knew I was lucky, but I would be happy with just a simple one story house with a half-an-acre back yard. Anyways, I went through my closet and picked out my favorite outfit: a tight fitting black tank top with a dark purple circle that stopped right of my belly-button, my black skirt with green plaid, and purple leggings down to combat boots.

After getting dressed, I made my way over to my bathroom. I brushed my raven black hair into a high ponytail with a green scrunchie and left some of the hair down. I then put on my black choke collar and bracelets. I then brushed my teeth. I then put on my dark purple lip gloss. That was the only make-up I would wear, though. You should see some of the neighborhood girls. They like glop it on. Some of them put on so much mascara on that they can't blink. **(Suburgatory joke there)** I might be a Goth, but I found make-up useless. Plus, it made my mom go nuts, so it was worth it. I then headed down stairs.

When I got down stairs, it was an average breakfast: scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, toast, and much more. I hated the thought of how much of this food that could have been given away to the needy. It was horrible! But, I reached for a piece of toast and some scrambled eggs anyways. Yeah, I ate eggs, I wasn't a vegan, I was just a vegetarian. My parents tried to make small talk, but I wasn't very cooperative. I did try to knock sense into them about Vlad again, but they didn't listen. Just like always. I just sighed and finished eating. I then left the house. I went out to the beach.

I went to the beach pretty much every day. You see, there was one cave that I found that was a perfect hide out. The entrance was covered by a bunch of weedy bushes. From the outside, it just looked like one massive rock, you can't even see the top of the thing it was that big. Once I got to the beach, I made sure that no one was around to see me and then I slipped inside.

Once inside, you had to go down this little shoot. After about twenty-five feet of shoot, it opened up into a big open area. I had rigged the place up a bit since I had found it a few month ago.

I had strung up some battery powered non-colored Christmas lights. There was a pedestal type thing-it was the perfect size for a bed. So, I snuck a few comforters and a sleeping bag in there. I rigged it so awesomely that it looked and felt like a regular bed. Right next to it I kept a long metal pipe, so if there was and intruder, I could defend myself. There had been three shelving units with fives shelves a piece already there, so I got some of my favorite books and stuff, and I put it up there on one. On another, I put a few canned goods on it, probably enough food to last one person about three months on the top four shelves. Also, on the fifth shelf of it, I had a large storage of extra batteries, light fixtures, and flashlights. On the third and final shelf, I put a few outfits of clothes, just in case I was stuck here for a while. There was also a small drain like thing in the back and bucket that I used for…well you know… It took a lot of sneaking stuff out my home, but it was worth it. The place made the perfect hang out.

Probably the coolest part of it was the little freshwater spring in the back. It kind of trickled out into a little pool and then went back down into ground. I found a little hook that I was able to hang a small cup on. The cave was almost a little too perfect. I knew for a fact that somebody had to have lived here before me. Somebody had rigged the whole thing out so it would be livable. I had to always try to keep this out of my mind.

But, that wasn't even the whole cave. The thing was massive. In the very back of the cave, by the water spring, was a little tunnel. I had been trying to debate whether of not I should look through it for a while. Not that I was scared to, it was just that once I did, I wouldn't have much to think about and argue with myself about. I am a very argue-mental person. Don't try to debate that with me! See, told you. But, did you listen, no. Today, I finally decided to check it out. I grabbed a flashlight and then began to walk down the hallway.

After walking about fifteen feet, the tunnel began to open up. There was a small circular opening. There was one small stairway to the left. The thing looked like somebody had chiseled it out of the rocks. Okay, now I know that there was someone here before me. I decided to go up the stairway. After going up a few flights of stairs, I started to see a bright light. I didn't really know why until I reached the top.

It was a big lookout. There were holes in the rock on every side. The view was beautiful. I could see far out on to the ocean. I could look down the beach. I also noticed a small lawn chair in the corner. _'Cool,' _I thought, _'I could sit up here all day.' _I could see from every view. It was the coolest thing I think I have ever seen. I then turned my view inland. Then I saw a horrible sight. My house. It was one of the biggest things in the distance. It had dark smoke coming out of it. My eyes became wide. My house was on fire. Fire. I then saw two big green floating things, and even though I never saw one before, I knew what they were. were ghosts. And if they were flying away from my house, that meant they were already done.

_'My parents!' _I thought in alarm. I ran out of the tower, out of my cave, and began to sprint to my home.

When I got there, I saw a horrible sight. The place I had called home for years was gone. All that was left was a large pile of rubble. I examined the rubble closely to see if I could find my parents. I didn't find anything. Tears began to flood into my eyes. They were gone. Just like that. No goodbye. No funeral. Just gone. Then, something shiny struck my eye. It was lying on the ruble where are kitchen would have been. It was my mom's wedding ring. I picked it up and began balling further. I now knew it was hopeless. They were gone no ifs, ands, or buts. After giving up hope, I slowly walked away from the scene. With my mom's wedding ring in hand, I headed back to my cave. Alone. As I walked, I began to regret everything I did to irritate my parents. Now there was no getting them back. There was no one to irritate. They were both dead. Dead. I walked back to my cave with a life ripped into little pieces and a heart being eaten up by regret.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you guys liked it. I won't know unless you review! <strong>

**Also, just like in my other fanfic, A Fruit Loop's Reign, I will be doing a trivia question every chapter. How it works is if you answer it in your review, I will put your name in my next chapter's author's note. So it is publicity for you and reviews for me, it is a win-win. And this issue's question is:**

**In which Danny Phantom episode did Danny get his ghost ray?**

**In other news, I should have the next chapter up by the end of this weekend or next weekend.**

**Anyways, please review.**


	3. Blessings for the Moment

**Hey guys! I kind of changed the summary of this story. It was irritating and it wasn't agreeing with what I wanted to write. So if you want to check that out, look at my profile or at chapter one for the full summary.**

**I want to throw out a big thanks to RandomSharkAttack for their continuation of being my editorial muse. I also want to throw out a big thanks to all my reviewers/favoritors/followers. **

**The answer to the trivia question was What You Want! (I'm sorry but you had to guess the title. Really sorry, better luck next time) And the winners are...**

**nivogirl**

**DanPhantomsApprentice**

**Skye of the Night**

**MiniHayden**

**Kitty in Boots**

**Good job!**

**Disclaimer: If you haven't gotten it yet, I pity either your ignorence or incompetence, but I don't own Danny Phantom.**

**And on with the story!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Blessings for the Moment<strong>

**(A Boy's Point of View) **

We were running for what seemed like forever. We had just stolen a bit of food to get us through the week. I guess we looked kind of silly, six teens running with cans in our hands, and backpacks on our backs on Miami Beach at dusk. But, what choice did we have. We had to steal, otherwise we would be goners. When we did have the money to pay for it, we would. But, I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself. It all began a while ago…

It all started when I was four. The Earth was doomed by an incoming asteroid. Just when all hope was lost, a man said he had a solution. So, we all gathered around a giant TV screen in Amity Park. All of our residents and residents from other nearby cities came to watch. The man we would come to know as Vlad was speaking in a small town called Marshfield in Wisconsin. (Apparently he was mayor or something) As we watched the screen, I got bored. I began to twiddle my thumbs and other things-being that I was only four; I didn't really understand the seriousness of the situation. I just wanted to go back my GameBoy. But, when I finally looked back up at the screen, I saw something bewildering. The man that was talking jumped of the podium and began to fly and then turned into a ghost. A ghost. Something I now knew was a halfa. Everybody around me gasped.

The halfa's plan was to turn the asteroid intangible and phase it through the Earth. And in return, he would be ruler of the world. Being that this was our only option, we agreed. His plan worked and he became the new ruler of the world.

After about six years of udder chaos under his rule, he came to Amity Park. For whatever reason, I didn't know at the time. He let out his full power on his city. So many people were killed. I was able to hide for most of the attack. After it was over, my parents were both dead, and I was alone to try to somehow survive. . I was on my own (This was incredibly difficult being that I was only ten.) for almost a month when I ran into a girl: her name was Valerie Gray. She explained why Vlad attacked the Amity. Apparently, when her dad was alive, he worked at a giant lab, called Axion. They were doing research on how to destroy halfas. And well, you can only guess what happened next…

The two of us really got along together. I was the brains, and Valerie, not that she wasn't smart, was the fighter. Even though she was only ten, she was already a black belt. She even taught me a few moves. We hid together for another few months. We then ran into a few more kids. Two boys: Dash Baxter and Kwan Sie****** and two girls: Paulina Sanchez and Star Delisle**.** **They use to be the bullies. But, man, did they look pitiful. Sure, the boys were strong and the girls pretty, but they had no street smarts. It was kind of weird really; they looked up to us now.

We eventually rigged up a small hideout where we all looked together. It was interesting, really, the people I thought I would never be friends with, and yet I was actually learning from them and teaching them. We were like one big family, brothers and sisters. Eventually, we were able to get our hands on some PDAs and other electronics. Being that I was like brother to technology, in a sense, even at our young age, I was able to hack into a Wifi zone and get some details on what was going on in the outside world. The few of us had been on the run together since.

That's our basic back story, now back to the beach. All six of us were carrying the cumbersome cans that seemed to keep falling. Why were we in Miami? Usually we would stay in Amity Park, being that it was a deserted, thus being safe for a bunch of refugees. The reason we were here, is because we heard about another rich family going down, the Mansons an about a month ago. But, in the past few weeks, there had been a few rumors circulating that the daughter of the family had gotten away unharmed, and we needed to check it out. Usually, we would just keep track of what rich family was taken out, but it was said that the girl had survived, and being that Amity Park is in Tennessee which, for the routes we know, is only a few days out from Florida, we figured what the heck!

I saw Valerie run out in front to a large rock formation and yell, "Tucker! Guys! I think I found a cave!" I was overjoyed for two reasons, one being that she might have found a safe place for us two stay, and two was that she personally said my name. We might be on the run, but it's human nature to like somebody. Don't judge me.

Anyways, we all ran over to what she was looking at and saw the opening that she was looking at. If Valerie hadn't of seen it, I probably wouldn't have even it, being that it is partially covered by some greenery. Dash walked over and moved the shrubs aside. Everybody looked at me as if I knew if this was a good decision. I guess that I was kind of the leader of our little group. I didn't know why, but I just was. I took a second to contemplate our actions. It was getting late, and we could easily look for the Manson girl tomorrow. So, I said exactly what I was thinking, "It is getting late, and we can look for the girl tomorrow, so, what the heck!" With that, I hoped into the opening and began my decent. My five accomplices following after me.

* * *

><p><strong>(Sam's POV)<strong>

I was sitting reading on my 'bed' when I heard a sound. It came from the entrance as if somebody was coming inside. I quickly put down my reading material and picked up my pipe. I also kept it incase something like this ever happened but I never thought anything really would. I went up to the opening of the cave, and went into a defensive position.

I stood there for about a minute, and then an African-American boy came through the opening. While he was standing up, without thinking, I hit him with the pipe in his 'special area' before he could even gather his bearings. He fell to the ground, dropping all the canned goods he was carrying, and said, "What the heck was that for!" He was followed by five other kids, who all looked from him to me in surprise. There was an awkward silence as the African-American boy got up slowly and looked up at me.

Making sure to keep my pipe up in a defensive position, I studied them. There were three boys, the one I just hit with a pipe, a blond haired boy, and a Japanese boy. The one I hit with a pipe looked kind of small, whereas the other two looked extremely strong and fit. There were also three girls, an African-American, a Hispanic looking girl, and a blond. The African-American girl looked pretty strong, but the other two were pretty and kind of smaller. They all had about ten cans of food in each of their arms, and backpacks on their backs. In other words, they looked like a bunch of polar opposites all squished together into one group, carrying food. Hesitantly, I questioned them, "Who are you, and why are you here?"

The six of them all looked at each other for a brief second, and then the blond haired boy said, "We're looking for a place to safe and the Ma-"

He was elbowed mid-sentence by the African-American girl. She said, "Sorry for his bluntness," she paused to give him the evil eye, and then continued, "we were passing through the area, and we needed a place to stay. We found this cave and it looked promising, but since you are already here, we will just leave." They then all turned to the exit, the boy I hit with the pipe still slightly limping.

"No, wait," I said, putting the pipe into a relaxed position, and then they all turned to look at me, "Look, I'm sorry about what I did to-" I then looked at the boy questionably, not knowing his name.

He seemed to know my unasked question and said, "Tucker, Tucker Foley."

"I'm sorry for hitting you with a pipe, Tucker," he simply nodded, "I've just been by myself for a while, and am kind of jumpy. You guys are welcome to stay, if you want." I know I was trusting them probably a little to fast, but I felt kind of guilty, they seemed like they were just refugees like me.

They all looked at me as if I just resuscitated them, the African-American girl was the first to reply saying, "Thank you, I'm Valerie by the way, Valerie Grey."

The rest followed in her model giving their name. I finally decided to say my name by stating, "I'm Sam, Sam Manson." All of there eyes bugged. I didn't really understand why, I mean was it because of my surname?

The one named Tucker was actually the first answer my yet again unasked question by saying, "This is going to sound extremely ironic, but, we were actually looking for you. We heard about what happened to you and we came out looking. We were wondering if you wanted to join us."

"Oh, well, I guess that's good that you found me. Umm, I'll think about it. Anyways, where are you guys from?" I replied. I know I was a bit quick to answer, and trust, but this was like the first time in what seemed like forever that somebody was nice to me. About three months ago, I would have tried to avoid everybody, but now, I was dieing to be able to talk to somebody my age. And if I could be in a group with a bunch of people looking out for each other, that would be so much better than living in constant solitude. Especially in the world that we were living in.

It was Dash was that ended up answering my question. He said, "Amity Park." I knew a little about that place. It was the one that was mauled by Plasmius and his goons six years ago. Poor kids. They're being on their own for almost six years makes my month look like a kid staying home when their parents go to the store.

I nodded as a response, and then Valerie said, "And if you did join us, we would want you to go accompany us back to the Amity. Being that it is deserted, it's a great place to hide. So just keep that it mind."

Again I nodded in response, and simply replied, "I'll think about it." Leave Miami? Hiding out or not, I'd lived my whole life here. It was my home. Plus it was the last place I saw my parents. But, if I did leave, I'd actually have friends, people looking out for me through the thick and thin. This wasn't an offer you'd get every day. It was a tough decision. I decided that since they were staying here for the mean time, I could get to know them and then base my decision off that.

We were all standing there for a while in an awkward silence. Since I hate these, I made the decision to break it. I interrupted the silence by saying, "Well, since you guys are staying here, make yourselves comfortable."

After eating a mixture of the food that they had and what I had, we all kind of sat in a circle and started to talk. Star and Paulina were up on my 'bed', and since everybody had sleeping bags in there packs, they had laid them all down. I was currently sitting on Star's sleeping bag to the left of Valerie, who was leaning up against the 'bed'. To my right was Dash, who was sitting next to Kwan. Tucker was of course right next to Kwan.

It'd been a long time since I'd actually talked with anyone. It was great. They were all so nice. They explained what had happened to them at Amity Park. It was excitingly horrible. They went through so much together. It was horrific. I then explained my story to them, which yet again looked extremely diminutive compared to them, but they didn't seem to care.

When I explained the little cave in the back, they said that they wanted to see it. I then explained that I didn't have the lights strung up yet, so we agreed that I would show it to them in the morning.

We continued laughing and talking for about another half-an-hour and then went to bed. All I could think about was how happy I was- I don't even know how long it's been since I actually laughed. It was great. By this time, I was already sure that I would be joining them. Even if it might later involve danger, it'd be worth it to have friends. Who knew a Goth would want friends? Go figure.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys liked it. (except I won't know unless you review) The next chapter will have much more action and angst. It's a Danny chapter!<strong>

**This issues question is...**

**What is the first ghost Danny had to fight?**

**Good luck!**

**I don't know when I will have the next chapter up. Probably sometime either next weekend or the weekend after.**

**Please Review.**


	4. Reveries and Decisions

**Hey. (Avoids flying fruit) Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I've abandened you guys for a while. I promise that I will TRY my hardest to update sooner. but, things have been so hectic in my little corner of the universe latley. I got sick with Whooping Cough, my teachers keep giving us bucket loads of homework, and I just finished Battle of the Books for my school, and I had to stay up really late some of the nights leading up to the battle to finish them. Things have been hectic, okay! **

**Anyways, the answer to the trivia question is Ectopuses. If you remember, it's like literaly in the first two minutes of Mystery Meat. He fights the Lunch Lady after that. Good job to all who got it and good luck next time to all who didn't.**

**Kirbysamful**

**DanPhantomsApprentice**

**Skye of the Night**

**Pinklife (really 'greenish octopus thingies' [just messing with you Pinklife])**

**SailorSea**

**obsessivereader95**

**' '**

**Good job to all who got it right! There will be another one at the end of this chapter, too. (Just so you know, the last one isn't an accidental space, it's an anonymous reviewer with no name.)**

**I want to throw out a huge thanks to obsessivereader95 my beta reader. I also want to throw out a huge thanks to all who reviewed/favorited/followed. **

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four: Reveries and Decisions<strong>

**(Third Person)**

Unbeknownst to our seven teens, there is another person looking for the same kind of 'closure' that Sam had received. This isn't just a person, though. He is also a ghost. A perfect balance between life and death. Not dead, but not necessarily alive, either. He is what some would call a halfa. This halfa hides behind the fake mask he has created to avert any attention from himself as his thoughts focused on the impossibility that he could ever be accepted in either world. He had taken on the reality that he was rejected by both.

What he is, both worlds hate, and many ghosts and humans consider him a freak. He is forced to agree with these opinions out of a desperate need for a stable conscience. His kind has been given this horrible label because of the only other one like him. Due to this, he is under a veil of grief, sorrow, misery, and angst. The young one believes that he will be evil no matter what road he takes. Despite this, he desperately yearns for friends and a family, but his core beliefs state that he will never achieve this.

It's sad, really. At sixteen, he had never been given a chance at a stable life. Anything he wants is something he can't have because his most burning desire isn't something tangible. All he really wants is to be loved and accepted. Love. He used to have this. He had a family. A very loving family. But due to the veil of his species, he left. Now, he has a strong belief that he will never be loved. To him , that is the cold, hard truth.

So the young boy hides under the guise of one of his two identities. Nobody knows about his struggles except for him. He is a loner, flying through the night sky by himself. He has gotten by in this manner for almost two years now.

Being that he is alone, he has all the time in the world to think. But most of his thoughts are either sharp flashbacks or dark regrets. The past two years of his life have been really physically and emotionally difficult on the young teen. And tonight, as he flies alone, he is thinking about his family…

**Danny's POV**

_**(Flashback)**_

"_Danny!" I heard my mom yell, "Time to get up! We're going to the park!" I ran downstairs as fast as my small legs could carry me. I had just turned four and had been looking forward to today all week. It was going to be some much fun._

_I saw my family downstairs. "Good morning, Danny," Dad said. I greeted him back in the same way and then hugged him_.

_"Hey, Danny," my sister said looking up from her book. Even though she was only six, she was already an avid reader. I replied to her, too, and then walked to the table._

_Before I could sit down with my sister and dad, my mom came around the corner. "Good morning, sleepy head," she said. Again, I replied and ran over to embrace her the way I had my dad._

_**(**_**FLASH BACK OVER)**

**THIRD PERSON**

This scene and ones like it would replay in his mind until he was drowning in his own tears. He would give almost anything to be able to be with his family again. He wished that he could be care free again. He wished he could hug them and talk to them again. He wished he could tell them all of his secrets and that they would treat him just the same once he had finished. But he knew that it would never happen. Because it is impossible to love a halfa.

Little did he know at the time that he would never get to go to the park that day. That was the day that Earth gained the knowledge that it was threatened by a giant asteroid. Little did he know that that was the day that an evil madman's plan would fall into place and that he would win. Little did he know that it was that day that his future would be set in stone.

But, since there was no way to erase the past, he sucked up the tears and flew on in the dark. He needed to find someplace to sleep before he was found by another ghost or human. He saw a small building down the way that looked promising. It looked like an old, brick house. He was currently flying in a small town called Amity Park. At least, that's what the signs said. What he found nice about the town was that it was abandoned. This meant that he could probably avoid attention for a long period of time. He swooped down into the small brick house, and went into what looked to be an old bedroom.

Since he hadn't gotten sleep in weeks, he changed into his human side and slipped into the bed. The bed was kind of hard, but it beat the cave floors he had been sleeping on. He was able to quickly drift into a fitful sleep in about five minutes. But, he wasn't even free in his dreams. Even there, he was tormented by memories and thoughts of his old life. But in a way, it was also pleasant. It let him see his family again-even if it was only in his head. This was one of the only things that kept him sane.

* * *

><p><strong>Sam's POV<strong>

I awoke slowly and looked at my would-be friends. I saw that Paulina and Star were still asleep on my bed, the boys were all still sleeping on the floor, and Valerie was awake. She was just kind of sitting there in her sleeping bag, probably waiting for someone else to wake up. "Morn' Valerie," I whispered.

She looked at me, smiled, and then greeted me in the same fashion. She then asked if there was anywhere quiet we could go so that we wouldn't wake anyone up. I nodded, and she followed me up into what I liked to call the Lookout. Once up there, she said, "Wow, the view is amazing!" Her face made it seem as though she had just seen something so magnificent, she couldn't grasp it all. She did a double take between me and the view. I used to think it was beautiful, but now all I saw was a gaping hole in the town where my home used to be.

Despite this, I said, "Yeah." She just kept staring out the side by the ocean. Even I had to admit it was truly beautiful, but now all that this town was to me was an empty shell that would never be home again.

Valerie just stared out the large openings for a while, and then she said, "You know, Sam, I still remember my home. Good old Amity Park, when it was in its prime. I thought it would always be a place of happiness, never of depression or misery. My philosophy changed when we were attacked. My dad was head of security at Axion Labs at the time. Axion was one of the most secure facilities in the country. They were working on a way to destroy a halfa so that we would never have to deal with Plasmius again. The only reason I know this is because we basically lived there. It was just my dad and me. My mom was gone by that time. She was killed in one of the first raids," Valerie's voice broke here, but she pushed back into it, saying, "Anyways, almost the whole town was involved somehow in the Axion Projects. For a time, we thought everything would be okay. We thought that we would be able to take down Plasmius and save the world. Boy, were we wrong. Then, one day, it happened. All the loop holes, everything we messed up on, every secret we kept, fell apart, and Plasmius found out. Some people tried to leave the town, some stayed to fight, and some were ignorant to our inevitable demise. We didn't have enough time to prepare, though, and Plasmius was way ahead of us. He knew exactly how to infiltrate Axion and destroy the research. After he destroyed Axion, he took out the rest of the town. My dad tried to keep me safe. He'd been teaching me to fight forever, but it came down to him hiding me. I watched him die though a crack in the wall of the closet I was in. I can still see it now. They never found me, but I had to sit there for hours after he breathed his last and just watch him. I wish I would have died instead of being forced to endure the torture of helplessly watching him die."

I stared at the girl in disbelief for a second. Halfway through her confession, I had put my arm around her. Once she was done, I said, "Valerie, I'm so sorry." That was the only thing I could tell her.

"You're probably wondering why I'm telling you all this, and quite frankly, I don't know. I guess my emotions just finally caught up with me," she said.

"It's okay," I replied.

Valerie then pulled away, took a deep breath, and asked, her eyes now trained on me, "Are you going to come back with us to Amity?" I knew that she was trying to get off that depressing subject, and I didn't blame her at all.

"You know what, Valerie? I think I will. My life here is over, and I think I'm ready to start a new life with you guys. Plus, I've been dying for human contact ever since my parents- well- you know. I know that sounds weird coming from a Goth, but it's just the way I've been thinking lately. So, yeah," I replied. "I'll come."

"Good," Valerie said and we locked eyes. I knew from that point on that we would be good friends. Not in a weird way, just friends. We both smiled, and then we heard a shriek from down stairs. We both immediately ran to it.

* * *

><p><strong>Hehe. I feel evil. I left it on a cliff hanger. XD <strong>

**This issues trivia question is...**

**Finish the scene from Fright Knight:**

**"DANNY: If I win, you have to...run through the school parking lot in your underwear.**

**DASH: Okay, and when you tasted defeat, you have to eat these! (takes out dirty underwear)**

**(Danny, Sam, and Tucker scream)**

**TUCKER: I don't know what's scarier..."**

**In your reveiw, finish what Tucker's saying.**

**I don't have a clue when I will update next. I hope that it will be before the end of February, but I'm not making any promises.**

**Please reveiw. They motivate me to write faster. XD**

**~Pheek**


	5. Ectoplasm, Blood, and Dreams

**Hey people! Sorry this took so long, things are crazy, ya know? Ah well, I finally got it to you and this is by far the longest chapter I have ever written for fanfiction. Cool huh?**

**ATTENTION: Pinklife has recently posted a pole and fic on who is better _Cujo or Gir_? Curently, Gir is winning, and that makes me very mad (no offense all you Invader Zim fans). So, please, vote for Cujo! Please!**

**Anyways, like always, I would like to thank my beta reader, obsessivereader95 and all who favorited/followed/reviewed. You guys are awesome!**

**And the answer to the trivia question is... "[I don't know what's scarier] the underwear of the fact that he carries them around in his coat." You just needed something close to that. The winners are...**

**Skye of the Night**

**DizzlyPuzzled**

**DanPhantomsApprentice**

**0-MagicMelody-0**

**Pinklife**

**Great job to all who got it right and good luck next time to those who didn't. **

**Disclaimer: I'm only [InsertAgeHere] years old, do you really think I own Danny Phantom? But, for all you who don't know, I don't own Danny Phantom.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Ectoplasm and Blood<strong>

**Sam's POV**

Valerie and I locked eyes upon hearing the shriek and immediately came to a silent agreement to dart downstairs. We both pushed our way down, only to see that everybody was fine. Paulina, having been the one that shrieked, seemed to be calming down at Dash's touch.

"What, what is it?" Valerie stammered out.

As soon as I looked at the area illuminated by Tucker's flashlight, I knew what they werelooking at. I had never noticed before, but now that I was able to really get a good look at it, I saw that there was a green smear on the wall that almost seemed to glow slightly. What seemed to be dry, crusted blood was mixed evenly in with it.

"What is that green stuff?" I asked. They all looked at me like I was crazy. "What? I know that the other stuff is blood, but what's the green stuff?"

"Sorry," Tucker said, "You have to forgive us. We've seen enough of that stuff to last a lifetime. It's ectoplasm. It's kind of like blood for ghosts, except it gives them their powers and kind of makes up their whole body instead of just a portion."

I let out an 'oh'. I felt like a real ditz at the time.

We all watched Tucker walk over to the wall and take his finger to slightly rub away a little bit of the ectoplasm. He rubbed it between his fingers. "It seems to be a few months old. Maybe older, based on how it has solidified. There sure is a lot of it." He pointed his flashlight around the small room. Most of it was covered in the stuff. The only reason I hadn't seen it was because it was covered in a thick layer of blood. "When did you say you found this cave, Sam?" he inquired.

"Three or four months ago, but I never came back here till a few weeks ago. And even when I did, I never noticed anything. I guess I never really paid any attention," I replied. I watched Tucker whip out his little PDA and take out a little disk thing from the side. He then scraped some blood off of his finger and onto it. He took the disk and scraped some ectoplasm on to the disk.

"What's that for?" Star asked.

He obviously knew that none of us understood much about technology or the capabilities it had. I probably knew the most due to my up-bringing, but the others hadn't really had a real life since they were somewhere around twelve years old. Tucker, genius that he was, understood how computers and other technology worked with ease. He explained, "Well, I am doing a small analysis with my PDA, I can't tell what the ecto signature is or any of that stuff. Technically, it's possible, but I don't have the right equipment. Anyway, I can tell if this is pure ectoplasm, and, if I make a small program, I could make a decent ghost tracker. We could see all the ghosts around on the maps in my PDA, within a small range, of course. And, since that would only take the ectoplasm that I just put in and only use it for a while, once getting the data, I won't need it anymore. But, probably the best thing about finding it is that with the few guns that we have, I might be able to rig them out to work on ghosts."

It took everybody a second to process the information, but once it was processed, everybody started to nod and smirk. "That's great, Tucker!" Valerie said, obviously pretty excited. It might have been a little dark in that room, but I'm pretty sure that Tucker blushed. "So when are you going to start?" Valerie asked, Tucker immediately snapped back to reality.

"Well, I can get a working ghost tracker done by tonight, but since we only brought two guns with us; I really can't rig them all into ecto guns. So, I guess I can start now, but I won't be able to finish it till we go back to Amity Park. But, I will need you guys to gather up all the ectoplasm while I get working. Make sure not to get any of the blood, it will affect the strength of the gun if you do." He paused for a second, "You know what, feel free to take a small sample of the blood, just in case we ever get a chance to see whose it is. Being that it is even between the two, it might be worth looking at."

After Tucker said this, I saw both Star's and Paulina's face cringe, but not complain. We all looked in the semi-lit room and all came to the conclusion to string up some lights first so we could actually see what we were doing instead of just using flashlights. We all filed into the room and everyone but Tucker helped in grabbing some lights. Tucker, on the other hand, walked over to the bed, sat down with his PDA, pulled a laptop out of his backpack and began to work on making a program.

After stringing the lights up, we got a few of the plastic bags that they had in their backpacks and got to work. We all kind of struck up a conversation, and they began to tell me all about Amity Park and how great of a city it used to be. No wonder they all seemed to fit so well together, Amity Park was like a big family right before Vlad attacked. Everybody knew everybody else because of the work at Axion Labs. For a big city, that was pretty impressive. They told me all about all of their struggles throughout the years and various spurts of luck. They were eager to tell, and I was eager to listen.

**Danny's POV**

Every night when I go to bed, I am cursed by the same dream. It starts with day I left my family, a few of the major points in my life alone, and finally, a possible future that always seemed to vary, but had the same message: Vlad Will Always Rule The World And My Parents Will Never Accept Me.

My dream began as always, I was saying goodbye to my family…

_I began to snivel as I silently walked out of my previous home. I turned the corner and went ghost. I then flew to my old home to see the faces I'd learned to love. I saw my mom and dad in bed. I gave them each a kiss on the cheek and they both smiled unconsciously. I finally came across my sister. I couldn't stop, but I let out a tear. She had looked around, still awake and reading, but she didn't know I was there, being that I was invisible. Jazz, my sister, who finally thought that she was hearing things, went back to her book. I flew off... _

_I didn't want to leave, believe me. It was one of the hardest things that I have ever done. They were the people that I cared the most for, but they were also the people that wanted me dead. I made an agreement with myself that no matter what happened next, I could never go back to be with my family. It hurt. It killed me, but I know for a fact that halfas can't love. Halfas can't be trusted. Halfas deserve what they get for just existing. So, despite the pain, that I knew wasn't real because of my half ghost status, I flew off, wishing I had never even existed._

After dying inside from that memory, my mind switched to harder memories during my solitude…

_I was walking the street early one morning, looking for a place to eat that I could use my measly three dollars on. "Great," I thought sarcastically, "I'm going to have to steal something again." I was greatly against stealing, and it always left me with a bad feeling. I hated it, but I sometimes had no choice. I took a deep breath and slowly made my way into a Wal-Mart. _

_I got a few sideways glances. I did my best to go unnoticed, but in this town of Burlington, Wisconsin, many people knew my face. I knew that I had to leave town, not only because people knew my face, but because it was much too close to home. People suspected me of a lot of things, which were mostly correct. Mostly. Before I ever stole anything, I tried to see if I could get by with what little money I had. A few times, I was able to get a job, but most of the time they wanted too much information. A trail of crumbs was the last thing I needed. I always tried to do the same thing. I would get a little bit of meat and some bread. Upon doing this, I'd fill up my water bottle at the bubbler__*****__._

_"I really hope I can get what I need without having to steal," I thought, walking over to the deli. I looked up at the young blond behind the counter, and she looked back down at me with a disapproving glare. "What do ya want?" she asked in a venomous voice. _

_"Umm, what's your cheapest meat?" I asked._

_She looked at me, and her face seemed to soften slightly. She violently exhaled and asked, "How much money ya got kid?"_

_"Three dollars, but I really don't want to spend it all on that."_

_"Are ya parents here?"_

_"Umm, no, it's complicated."_

_"Alright kid. I'm not one to pry. How 'bout this, I'll make a deal with ya. If you do it, I'll give ya a twenty and you can get a decent dinner. Deal?" she proposed._

_This had taken me by surprise. She was obviously new here, because she didn't recognize me. She seemed relatively nice, and I really needed the money. "What do I have to do?" _

_"Look kid, my boyfriend and I just had a nasty fight, and I don't want him to be mad at me anymore. So, I need ya to go across town to a small bakery and get him ten Swedish chocolates. They're his favorites. I'd do it myself, but I'm kind of stuck here for another hour. I know that ya don't have enough money, so I'll give ya ten dollars right now to buy the chocolates and then when ya get back I'll give ya your twenty. If ya can get back here before my shift ends in an hour, I'll give ya an extra ten dollars, 'kay?" she said, holding out the ten dollar bill._

_I nodded to her and reached out to grab the ten. This was going to be a snap. I could fly across this town in five minutes. This was a really easy way to make thirty dollars. "Be sure you come back kid, 'cause otherwise you're the one losing money," she said as I was walking away._

_I got out of the shop and ducked into a nearby alley. I turned into my ghost half, went invisible, and then flew across the town to the bakery. I knew exactly where it was, because I seemed to pass it every day when I went into the abandoned house down the road to sleep. Upon getting there, I ducked into a nearby alley and turned back into my human self. _

_I ducked into the shop and saw something that made my skin get all tight and my heart stop beating. It was my family, and they didn't look too good. From what I could tell, my dad had stubble on his face showing that he hadn't shaved in a while. My mom looked like she had just cried, had no make-up on, and had her hair back in a bun. She never wore her hair in a bun. My sister looked the same as my mom and had on a sweat shirt and sweat pants. They all had dark circles under their eyes. They were a mess. _

_I saw them all look straight at me and right through me. They didn't recognize me. I had grown my hair out a lot due to how fast it grew; it was chin length. I made sure to always wear sunglasses so nobody could see my eyes if they changed color. I had on some pretty dirty clothes that clung to my very skinny figure like bark to a tree. I looked nothing like the Danny Fenton they knew. _

_But probably what killed me the most was when my dad spoke to me in a rough voice. He said, holding up a flyer with my face on it, "Have you see this kid? His name's Danny. Have you seen him?" _

_In the most un-Danny voice ever, I said, "No, I'm sorry." _

_Then, my mom spoke, saying, "If you do, could you please call this number?" She handed me a small business card with a fake name on it but probably a working disposable cell phone. I took it, and our hands brushed up against each other, just like they would when I was little and I was about to hold her hand. It brought a small tear to my eye. Choking back a silent sob, I nodded to her. "Thank you," she said._

_My parents and sister stood there for another second before they walked out. I stared back at them as they left; my hands trembling with the business card. I felt like I was going to cry. I knew I would. I wanted to so badly join them. I wanted to tell them I was okay and that I loved them. I wanted to tell them I was a halfa and for them to accept me. I wanted them to love me again just as they had before, but, due to my state of existence, I knew that this was impossible. _

I did end up getting my thirty dollars that day. And because of that, I was able to get a lot of nice meals. But with the food came the memory of my parents and it always brought a tear to my eyes and made the food taste like ash. I now know that the girl at the deli had gotten back together with her boyfriend. I also know that they were very happy now because I saw him propose to her in the park that night. She said yes, and they embraced. I envied their happiness. I wish I had it instead of my vast pit of misery and anguish. I wish my parents had it instead of being hit with the burden of my existence. I wish they could forget me. I wish they could understand.

Again, in my dreams, my mind switched to another memory, except this one was slightly brighter and had a cheery sense about it. At least until the end…

_I had finally found a place that fit my needs. I had been here for about a month now, and everything was better than my crappy excuse for a life usually was. I was currently in a cave on the east coast of Florida. When I found it, I thought it was just a rock, but, then I found a small shoot that entered into a large opening. It was your average cave, that most people wouldn't even care enough to notice, but I saw it as a blessing. _

_I immediately went to work on the place. I carved the place with my ecto rays to fit my needs. I made a small pedestal like bed, a few shelves, and a pool for water when I tapped into a natural spring in the walls. Once I finished, it actually seemed rather livable. The only thing that bothered me about it was how vulnerable I was. I always tried to pick a hide-out that had a relatively good place for me to keep watch. _

_After pondering my problem for a while, I realized a solution, this section of rock was relatively tall so I could carve the top and make a small watch tower. I got to work on my little project immediately, and I eventually had my watchtower. For the first time in ages, I was finally able to relax. I had been on the run for about a year and a half now, and this was the best thing that had happened to me yet. _

_Once I had my cave rigged out, I was finally able to get a job. I flew invisibly into Orlando and dropped down in an alley where I changed back to human form. I quickly walked out and began looking for 'HELP WANTED' signs. After a few hours of looking, I saw a pizza shop called Carl's Pizza Joint with one in the window._

_I made my way into the restaurant and saw a slimy-looking, fat middle-aged man with a comb-over hairstyle sitting behind the counter. He had on a white tank top and a pair of jeans. He looked up at me when I walked in and he just stared for a second. He broke his gaze by saying in a gruff voice, "Are you here for the job, or do you want something to eat?"_

_Looking at him through my sunglasses, I began to question why I came into this shop. After about only three seconds in, I saw how dirty the place was. It was kind of pitiful really. Regardless, it seemed like a place with pretty low standards and requirements, so I replied, "Umm, yeah. I'm here for the job."_

"_You're hired. Get to work with the mop. It's in the closet at the back." He scoffed._

_I nodded and walked to the back. This was the perfect job. No paperwork. No information given. As soon as I started, he spoke, "You are probably wondering how much I'm paying. Well, you get two dollars and fifty cents an hour, but if you're not working, then I'm not paying you. So, keep busy. You will get here at nine o'clock every morning except Sunday, and be gone by eight-unless I say otherwise. If you don't show up without me knowing where you are, then you will not be invited back to my staff. Last thing, whatever I say goes. If I tell you to do something, you do not contradict me or you're fired. Get it?"_

"_Yup," I said, still mopping. He just shrugged with another small scoff attached to it. I could follow those rules. They seemed relatively simple. Follow what he says and I'll be fine. I could do that. _

"_You got a name, kid?" he asked. _

_I looked up from my work. 'Oh crap. I can't tell him my name! That would not end well. Okay, think Fenton, just call yourself D like you have everywhere else,' I thought. "Umm, just call me D," I said._

_"D. Interesting nickname, kid. Don't worry, I'm not one to pry, and I don't want to know anything you don't want me to. My name's Carl by the way. Just like the sign says. Once you finish mopping, wipe the tables off. Got it?"_

_"Yup."_

_"Good. I like you, kid. Nice and simple. Do good work and you might make a bit more." _

_After he said this, I wanted to say, "If you knew my story or what I was, you would not be saying that I was 'nice and simple'," but all I did was nod._

_Over the next couple weeks, I got a little more used to Carl. He was an Average-Joe. He was born and raised in Minnesota and moved down to Florida with his wife, Kelley. Kelley left him- which he made sure to rave about a lot- when he left his job as a mechanic and opened the restaurant. Things slowly went downhill from there, but he really had no money issues due to his inheritance from his great-grandfather. He was actually quite rich. Throughout the days, I listened to him blather as I worked- laughing when cued to and nodding here and there. And believe me when I tell you that he liked to talk a lot._

_Going along with his word, he never pried into my life. He was the perfect boss._

_But, all good things had to come to an end. Flying to work one day, I saw something horrible. From my aerial view, I saw two of Plasmius's goons float into his shop. I had to stop them. They were going to take Carl. I invisibly flew into the store, and saw them slowly closing in on Carl. I knew that I couldn't say anything due to recognition of my voice, and I didn't really want to show myself. That would just make people and ghosts suspicious. _

_Regardless of the consequences that could possibly come from this, I knew that I had to do something. A while back, I had finally conquered teleportation in short distances. I crept up behind the ghosts and touched them both on the back. They both were quickly alarmed, but I was faster and got us transported. I sent us to my cave- the most secluded place I could think of at the time. _

_Both ghosts immediately began to attack me. I shot back as fast as I could, but this time, they were faster. Our fight brought on a light show in the small area. We ended up in the little space between the main room and the staircase to the lookout when the real fighting began. They both began to throw shots at me simultaneously and got me backed up against a wall with a flickering ecto-shield as my only protection. By this time, I had a deep wound right above my right eye. It was bleeding heavily and made my vision fuzzy. I also had a thick side cut that continued to sting. The rest of my body was covered in bruises. At last, my shield broke, and their reign of terror came down more fully. _

_The world seemed to fade away and all sound stopped at the intense pain. It was like one of those scenes in the movies where there is no sound to add emotion- only this time, it truly was. After a while they stopped, and I fell to the ground. They slowly began to fly away. If they got away, I knew that they would get Carl. I couldn't let that happen. Slowly, with whatever energy I had left, I shot another ectoblast at them. They both turned around in unison and tried to shoot at me again. This time, though, I was faster than them and got to my feet. _

_Once on my feet, I sent them my most powerful attack: the ghostly wail. I used a full blown move, hoping to God that it would deplete them and send them back to the ghost zone.I got lucky, and it worked. I slowly propped myself up against the wall, reverted back to human form, and assessed my wounds. Using all of my self-control to keep from blacking out, I got a foggy image of what was going on. The cut on my head had gotten bigger and there was now a deep cut in my abdomen. I had to keep my hand on the wound so that my insides wouldn't spill out. My arms and legs were covered in innumerable cuts and bruises. Everything was bleeding a brownish substance. It seemed to be a mixture of blood and ectoplasm. _

_In my fight against passing out, I was able to realize that I had to get out of here as soon as possible. I attempted to stand, but I immediately fell to the ground with an agonizing scream. I had to put whatever energy I had left into healing my abdomen. I wanted to die. I deserved to die. My life is already over, so why not? How much worse would dying be? No, I can curl up and die when my family is safe and Plasmius is gone. I can't give up until then. _

_With a new-found strength, I put both hands over my core and used my powers to heal at least that. The rest of it could heal naturally-or a halfa's version of naturally at least. I felt my stomach beginning to close up. I took a stressed breath while enduring the pain of rapid healing. I gasped for air, now grabbing my head. I used the remaining strength to pull myself into a sitting position against the wall and gave into the blackness of unconsciousness. _

Despite my best efforts, Carl was gone the next morning when I awoke and checked on him. Being that he lived above the store and only went out on Saturdays, I knew he was gone. Plus, there was the obvious fact that the store and his house were trashed. I had failed him. Just like everybody else in my life. Had I not been so weak, he probably would have been okay. If only he'd run away, but, no, he was a simple-minded man who didn't plan for the future and went with whatever happened. Now he was gone because I was too weak. I am and always will be a failure.

Throughout the night, I went through many more memories. And then, like always, I got to the inevitable ending my mind had devised for the night…

_I looked up and saw Vlad, as strong as ever, as he shot another ectoblast at me. I screamed out in pain as it hit. I looked over at my parents who were just staring at me. In ghost form, I shot back up. "Don't you ever give up, boy?" _

_"Never!" I countered. I shot a few more ecto blasts and ice blasts at the ghost. _

_"Why do you try so hard, ghost? What could you possibly be fighting for? From what I can tell, you seem to have a fairly large hero complex, which doesn't make any sense. You also seem relatively powerful, which, of course, could be why. In your obsessive mind, you see that if you take me out, you could take my power. Well, if that is the case, let me tell you that it is not that simple. Give it up, boy. Give in to me." _

_"No! I can barely manage how I'm existing by myself right now. The last thing I want is to get power. I just want things to go back to the way they were before you ruined everything!" I replied, shooting a few ectoblasts at him. _

_"Well, now, that is a matter of opinion," he replied, countering my verbal and physical attacks, "I like it this way. I have power and people obey me. I have turned the world into the place I want to live out my existence."_

_Our light show continued as I said, "Well, here's a news flash, you are pretty much the only one that does. People being massacred for no reason. People with no free will. People unable to live out their lives the way they want to. The list goes on, Plasmius. Your people are oppressed. You are a selfish, horrible halfa. You know that?" _

_"Another matter of opinion. I find it funny how you only care about the 'people'. So, either you are obsessed with helping people or you're a halfa." I stiffened at those words. He obviously noticed and kept on going. "You are, aren't you? Don't hide it, boy, it's a gift. It is nothing to be ashamed of. It could bring you much power. If you join me, you could be my apprentice. I would treat you like a son. What do you say? All you have to do is stop fighting me and turn into your human form. Don't be afraid."_

_"Never! I will never join you. I am a ghost, not a halfa! Plus, I already had a dad, and there is nobody who could EVER replace him! EVER! Get that through your thick skull right now, you fruit loop!" I screamed, shooting back at him. _

_"Really? You're a ghost? I don't believe you. First, because of the obvious reasons I stated before, and second, because of the fact that you are bleeding a mixture of blood and ectoplasm- something only a halfa does." _

_I growled at him and shot a quick glance at my parents. They both had their weapons ready but weren't using them. They obviously didn't know who to shoot at. "Give in to me, boy. These two ghost hunters couldn't do anything if they tried, so don't worry about becoming human in front of them. If they try anything, I'll take them out. They will be killed off soon anyways. Don't worry; your human half will stay secret with me. They will die after finding out, like I said." _

_"No! I will never give in to you. Ever! How you can just kill innocent people is beyond me! Heed my words, Plasmius, I will never, out of my own free will, join you!" I screamed back._

_"What are you afraid of, halfa? Unless… You're their son, aren't you, ghost? You're the poor little Danny Fenton that they used to rave about. That's why you don't want them to know. They are ghost hunters, and you are a ghost. It would never end well. They will never love you if you really are a Fenton. I am offering you a chance at life with me. I will give you everything they can't give you. They will never accept or understand you. If you are a halfa, you mean nothing to them. Nothing. But I understand. I could teach you things that you could never dream of knowing." _

_Feeling tears forming in my eyes, I shook my head, and he continued, "Oh, but I am sure that I'm right. Positive actually. You have no life. No future. You have nothing, but I can give you a new life. A new future. I-" _

_"Shut up!" I screamed. _

_"Why should I? I am only speaking the truth, boy. You must know that. I-"_

_"I said, 'Shut UP!'" I screamed, this time releasing my ghostly wail. Despite all of Plasmius's power, he was thrown up against the back wall of the castle. I was able to keep up the attack for at least another minute, and then, there was silence as I fell to the ground. It was at this point- both parents looking- that I reverted back to my human form. Back to Fenton. _

_From my now human form, I observed Plasmius as he said, flying back up into the air, "Well, I guess I was right, wasn't I? Well, I guess I should leave this little family to themselves now, shouldn't I? Until next time, Jack, Maddie, Phantom- or should I say Danny- farewell." With that, he was surrounded by a wave of ectoplasmic energy and disappeared. _

_In my dream world, I looked again like the Fenton they knew before I ran away. Propping myself up against the back wall, I looked up at them. At first, they both held looks of disbelief, and then the inevitable happened. They both took out their guns and pointed them at my head. My mom said, "You took our son away from us. You might be able to take on his appearance, but you are still a ghost. Halfa or not, you are still evil. You are going to wish you had never existed, you sad excuse for a creature." _

_At this, my parents charged their guns up, ready to shoot. I whispered, about to die, "I already do." And then they shot. I screamed out in pain. _

I woke up screaming like every other night of my life alone. _I_ am cursed. _I am_ a mistake. _I_ am a _halfa_.

* * *

><p><strong>*bubbler- where I come from, this is what we call a water fountain or drinking fountain<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>How did you like it? I won't know unless you review. <strong>

**This issues trivia question is... **

**What is the name of one of the two the blond haired reporters?**

**Like always, if you answer correctly in your reveiw, your name will be posted in the next chapter!**

*****And remember to vote for Cujo on Pinklife's pole! (reviewing and PMing her will work, too.)**

**I still have no idea when I am going to post the next chapter. XD**

**Please review.**

**~Pheek out.**


	6. A New Home

**Hello, sorry it took so long (like usual). **

**Thanks to all those who reviewed/favorited/followed. You guys are awesome!**

**I'd also like to thank my beta reader obsessivereader95. You've made this story so much better!**

**And the answer to the trivia question is... Lance Thunder or Tiffany Snow!**

**The winners are...**

**GinjaNinja13**

**Pinklife**

**SailorSea**

**starhedgehog1117**

**Anitahailey**

**RaeSoul**

**Dragonian master**

**ForeverHalfa**

**XphiaDP**

**Great job to all who got it right!**

**Sorry if this chapter seems to OOCish. I did my best not to, but still...**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

><p><strong>A<strong>** Hopeless Cause**

**Chapter 6: A New Home**

**Sam's POV**

I had been with the others for a few days now, and I was finally able to call them friends. I've never actually had any real friends. All the girls at the prep schools I went to- in their short skirts and skimpy shirts- were complete…you know what I mean. All the guys were total jerks. Plus most of them were into football or cheerleading, two things that I have absolutely no interest in. Any of the normal kids were either already in their own little cliques attempting to survive in the mass torture or trying to get into the group of popular kids.

Paulina and Star both seemed like they would have probably been popular cheerleaders if life went 'normally', and Dash and Kwan both seemed like they would have been popular jocks. Tucker and Valerie were my kind of people; they weren't overly cheery, and they seemed pretty down to Earth. Though they were all my friends, I think that I got along a little better with Tucker and Valerie.

The only problem I found with the odd group was that they were all paired up: Dash was with Paulina, Kwan with Star, and Tucker with Valerie. Not that I really cared, but I had always thought of myself in the future with somebody. I never really thought through what my 'Prince Charming' would look like or be like, due to the mad man that took over the world when I was four. No, I had bigger fish to fry. I couldn't worry about being in a relationship when I was just trying on to stay alive and essentially take down Vlad.

Most likely, I would probably end up bitterly alone. I would end up not having anything and living in a box because I couldn't adjust to a world of democracy and such. I'd have nothing—let alone a love life. Oh well, at least I had friends for the moment.

Today was the day that I had been looking forward to and dreading ever since they found me. Today was the day that we were going back to Amity Park. Though I had already agreed to go with them, I was still kind of scared to go there. All my life, I'd lived in Miami. My parents had enough common sense not to go on any vacations since Vlad 'took office'.

I didn't know what to expect. There were only a few 'normal' places that didn't go through a raid like Amity Park had, Miami being one of them.

Valerie must have sensed my worry, because she found me in the tower early in the morning before we were planning to go. "Relax," she comforted, "It's just like Miami, only quieter and there are less people."

"Yeah, I guess I'm over reacting. I just don't know if I'll be able to get past the lack of people or the mass destruction. Plus it'll be hard to get through leaving my hometown, especially under the circumstances. If you guys knew that I was alive, then Plasmius must have. He's going to want me dead the moment he finds me. Granted, he'd probably do the same thing to you because of what you know," I replied.

"You're right about that, but trust me; you have nothing to worry about. Everything is going to be fine," Valerie promised, "As long as we all stick together, then we'll be fine. And if you're worried about the trip, it's only a few days. Besides, you know by now that there's never a dull moment around when you're around us."

I smiled at this. It was true: this group was a ham. "I guess you're right," I replied. Though I tried to pull off looking sure of everything, I was terrified of what I was going to find out in the 'real world'. My life had been sheltered up until this point. Just the thought of bringing me to the Amity was like putting a goldfish in cold water before it had time to adjust.

"Aren't I always?" she joked, smiling. "Now, come on. Let's see if everybody else is up and ready for breakfast. We both went back to the main area and found the others up. We all ate a quick breakfast and packed up. We made sure to bring some of the batteries, flashlights, and other goods I had left.

I decided to bring a few changes of clothes, some toiletries, and, finally, my mom's wedding ring. There was no way I was going to forget that. We quickly set off after that. I stole one last look at my hometown before departing from it forever.

* * *

><p>Valerie was right when she said a few days; six days of nonstop walking to be exact. When we entered the city, I was overwhelmed. The marvelous city they described to me from memory was now nothing. It was mutilated. The burger joint they had told me of, Nasty Burger, was in shambles. All that remained of the sign was the N and B. The high school, Casper High and their grademiddle school, Kruger Educational, looked as if a bomb had blown them up (one probably had). The saddest sight of all—which they had to point out because it was a literal hole in the ground—was Axion Labs. I saw pain in all of their faces as we past it.

Our traveling through the city had been quiet and solemn, unlike the rest of our trip. I didn't blame them; they were all probably going through some pretty bad memories as we passed those major spots. Poor kids were scarred for life before they even got the chance to live.

"Here we are," Paulina proclaimed, leading the way into a large three story building with a brick facade. It was in pretty good condition compared to the rest of the buildings. They led me up one flight of stairs and showed me the rooms. I would be sharing with the other girls, just as the boys shared with the other boys. They explained that they grouped together so that if anything bad happened we would be able to have each other's backs.

I easily settled and looked out the window at the city in shambles. "It used to be beautiful," Star said, coming to look out the window by me, "There was so much life in everything. It's a shame, really." She then began to point out different buildings that she, her friends, and her family hung out at. It was pretty cool to see how Valerie and Paulina jumped into the conversation. It was cool to see the 'distant memory' look in their eyes as they went on. I couldn't help smiling.

At last, we were interrupted by Tucker alerting us, "If you guys are done reminiscing on the past, then you might want to take a look at this. As far as my PDA is concerned, there is a ghost in the building."

We all looked up in alarm. "Don't worry girls, it's a pretty weak signal, it's probably just a small one." He paused, and then remarked in a whisper, "How is that possible?"

"How is what possible?" Valerie said, running over to him and staring at the small outdated machine in his hands. "Oh my gosh. I thought you said it was a weak one?"

"I did- it was. It was only a level two." He quickly saw our confusion. "The scale goes from one to ten. One being the worst and ten being the best. It just went from a level two to a level eight-and-a-half. And when it did, the there was a large spike of ecto-energy in the room." He looked up at us in alarm. "It somehow just leveled itself up. That's not possible..."

"Where are Kwan and Dash?" Paulina asked.

"They went up to see what it was," Tucker replied, still looking at the PDA in confusion.

Paulina stood there, shocked, realizing that her boyfriend had just gone up to fight a level eight-and-a-half when they thought they were going against a level two. Obviously Star realized this, too, because she freaked and they both took off running to the stairs and then up them. Valerie, Tucker, and I ran after them to make sure that they wouldn't get hurt.

* * *

><p><strong>Danny's POV<strong>

* * *

><p>I had been in Amity Park for a while now, and after a few days, I'd made a 'home' in the third story of a brick home. I'd just woken up—the same way I always do—when I heard noises downstairs. I quickly went invisible and pocketed my meager bag full of my belongings. I heard two people coming up the stairs, and I transformed and flew to the window, still invisible.<p>

Two boys, probably my age, came dashing up the stairs, a Japanese and a blond. "Dash, according to the tracker, the ghost is this way," I saw the Japanese boy direct the other boy in the room, Dash.

Instead of holding a PDA, which was apparently a ghost tracker, the boy was holding what seemed to be a small ectogun. Little did they know that gun- based on size and how long it took to charge- would most likely just feel like somebody was tickling me.

They both came closer to window where I was invisibly hiding. "Dash!" I heard a Hispanic voice ring out.

"Kwan!" screamed another.

"Paulina! Star! What are you to doing here? You have to get out—we have a level two here!" the one named Dash proclaimed.

"That's where you're wrong!" the blond protested breathlessly.

"Tucker's other PDA told him that it was a level eight-and-a-half! We have to get out of here!" the Hispanic girl added with fear in her eyes.

They were all about to leave when three more came running up the stairs, a African American boy and girl, then a black-haired Goth looking girl. I was instantly mesmerized by the girl. She was so beautiful. I could feel my eyes widen and my mouth drop open. I quickly shook my head and broke out of my trance. _Snap out of it Fenton, _I thought, _You're a halfa. Halfa's can't love, let alone be loved. She'd hate your very existence. _

"Where's the reading coming from?" the Goth girl asked.

"That window, Sam," the boy name Kwan replied. _Sam, what a pretty name, _I thought, _Stop it Fenton, there on to your position. _

I must have made a sound, because they all jumped and Dash pointed his ectogun at me."

"Dash," the African American began to advise, "That gun isn't going to do a thing if this ghost really is an eight-and-a-half." _Finally, somebody with some sense._

"So what are we supposed to do, Tucker?" the blond girl asked, not daring to move.

"Well maybe we can just walk out of here, and if we don't pose as a threat, then it might not hurt us," the African American boy, apparently named Tucker replied. I couldn't help but snort here. They all jumped again, and then Tucker explained to me, "We don't mean you any harm, ghost. We can all coexist here. We are just going to go back downstairs and we won't bother you anymore, and hopefully you won't tell Plasmius we were here."

They all began to slowly retreat back to the stairs. "What the heck would I gain from telling Plasmius?" I verbally thought. _Crap, _I thought, _You just spoke to a bunch of humans in ghost mode. Smooth. _

They all jumped and looked back at the window near where I was floating. _Just leave, Fenton, they know you're here, just get out while you still have a chance, _I thought and then I realized, _What could they possibly do to me?_I pondered this for a second; their guns didn't work on me, and they obviously weren't going to turn me into Plasmius if they didn't want me to tell on them.

Clearly shaken, the African American girl began in an irritated tone, "For starters, all of you filthy ghost scum work for him and-" If it was some other ghost that didn't like Plasmius—which was more than many knew—they would have probably have attacked her. Me, I simply smiled to myself and let out another snort.

The one named Tucker quickly put his hand over her mouth and she fought against him. "What she means is that as far as we know, all ghosts, especially powerful ones like you, serve Plasmius. And, no offense if this is untrue, but we are under the impression that since you are a ghost, you serve him."

"Well," I responded, watching them all jump at my voice again as I replied, "I, as well as many other ghosts, don't serve Plasmius. Though many do, there are a lot of us that don't. It's like if we said that all humans were on his side, which I know for sure is not true, because it is his fault that I'm dead. I'll leave you now, so long." That technically wasn't a lie since I was half-dead and that wouldn't have happened had my parents never made that ghost portal; which they wouldn't have had they not been looking for a way to get rid of Plasmius.

I quickly flew out the window and into a building across the street where I changed back to my human form. Invisibly and intangibly, I slid back into the other building and into an empty crate on the second level. Losing my powers, I masked my ectosignature—a nifty trick that I just learned how to do—and listened. I easily peered through one of the small holes in the side of the crate.

"That was strange," I heard the blond say.

"You got that right, Star," the African American girl replied to the girl I now knew as Star. "By the way," the African America girl began turning to Tucker, "What was that for? Why didn't you let me speak my mind? Those filthy ghosts have done so much to us; I was well in my right."

"Valerie," Tucker began explaining to the one named Valerie, "We shouldn't mess with a level eight-and-a-half. You could have gotten hurt! We all could have gotten killed. You've seen what they can do firsthand. I'm not doubting how strong you are or anything like that; I just know that we don't have what it takes to take down a ghost like that."

She scowled at him and they both held each other's gaze until Valerie finally sighed and admitted, "I guess you're right."

They were quiet for a moment until Sam pointed out, "I know that you guys know more about ghosts than I do, but wouldn't a level eight-and-a-half have attacked if we got that close to it?" _She really does have a pretty voice... Knock it off, Fenton._

"Yeah, that meeting should have been impossible. A ghost should have attacked. Unless..." Tucker began.

"Unless what, Tucker?" Paulina questioned.

"It's impossible, not even a good theory," Tucker reassured. _If he says halfa, he's smarter than I thought. Then again, had they gotten any closer, I'd probably have just flown away and not attacked. _I might not be able to have any relations with anybody, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hurt anybody._ But I guess once I lose my humanity like Plasmius, I will most likely use my extra powers as a halfa to hurt and most likely kill people. _That thought made me shiver in fear of that day.

"Common, dude, just say it," Kwan edged on.

"I know that this is ludicrous, but what if it was benevolent?" Tucker finally responded. _Never mind, he's not as smart as I thought he was. I only know a few ghosts that are benevolent, and they'd never leave their hiding spots in the Ghost Zone._

"That's sort of impossible," Paulina pointed out.

"I know! I know!" Tucker defended, "It was just an idea."

They were all quiet for a second and then Valerie put in, "The thing was probably just messing with us."

"From what you guys have said," Sam began and hesitantly continued, "It would be impossible for that ghost to be telling the truth, right? If it were then we would have a much better chance at taking down Plasmius, right?"

"Even if it were telling the truth, which it most likely wasn't, we wouldn't be able to get the ghosts to help us," Tucker explained, "Humans and ghosts are just too different to be anything other than enemies."

Sam nodded and I saw her hair swish around and I couldn't help but smile. Shaking it off, I continuedwatching. "Then what about Plasmius?" Star asked, "He's a halfa, and if ghosts and human are enemies, he sort of—in his own mischievous way—brought them together to fight for him."

"True," Valerie agreed, but then contradicted, "But he took many of them by force and killed or 'took out of existence' any that didn't obey him. Plus the conditions for making a halfa couldn't be repeated since they are unknown to most people, and if they did then we would have more problems than just Vlad." _Ouch._

The others nodded and Star remarked, "Thank goodness that there aren't any more halfas." _Double ouch._

The others replied in whispers, and eventually they all decided to eat lunch. Realizing that I was done with spying, I quickly teleported back to the building across the street. I was going to have to leave Amity a lot faster than I originally thought. No doubt their sensors would pick me up if I didn't have my ectosignature masked.

About ready to leave, I heard something coming from the top of the stairs. "I'm sure I saw someone in the upstairs window. Come on," I heard one of the girls say.

I was trapped due to the fact that I didn't pay attention to my surroundings. If I used any of my powers, they would see. There was nothing I could do. _Crap_ was the only thought going through my head as I saw that beautiful Goth girl at the top of the stairs, staring at me.

* * *

><p><strong>How did you like it? Good? Bad? Ugly? I won't know unless you review.<strong>

**This issues trivia question is...**

**In which episode does Sam almost have to marry Aragon?**

**I need a name, not description.**

**Like usual, I don't know when I'll update next, but I do know that I am going to be updating much faster now that school is out for the summer. **

**Please Review.**

**~Pheek**


	7. No

**Hey guys...it's been a while hasn't it...yeah...sorry bout that.**

**Getting down to lighter news, the answer to the trivia question is... Beauty Marked! The winners are...**

**Dragonian Master **

**SailorSea**

**Phantom's-Apprentice96**

**Kirbysamful**

**Guest**

**starhedgehog1117**

**awesomeperson**

**Pinklife**

**ForeverHalfa**

**NerdyWriterGirl**

**I'd like to thank all who reviewed/favorited/followed me! You guys are great!**

**I'd also like to thank my amazing beta reader, obsessivereader95! This story would be a mess without ya!**

**Disclaimer: I, Pheek, don't own Danny Phantom.**

* * *

><p><strong>A Hopeless Cause<strong>

**Chapter 7: No**

I stood, petrified as the girl stared back at me in shock. I watched her in dismay as her friend, the African American girl, Valerie, came flying up the stairs saying, "It might be a ghost, Sa—oh." Valerie stopped, too, and the three of us stood staring at each other for what felt like forever until Valerie questioned me, a little hostility edged into her voice, "Who are you?"

I remained silent and stared at the duo. Finally, I broke my daze and answered in a similar tone, "I could ask you the same question."

I could tell by Valerie's expression and posture that she was about to release a snarky come back when their friend, Tucker, ran up the stairs, "Please don't ever run off like that again. There's probably nobody even—hi."

"Hi," I responded listlessly. This was the last thing I wanted to happen. I didn't need to interact with these kids; I needed to get out of there. It briefly flashed through my mind that it was very possible that they could work with the fruit loop, even though I would have contradicted this statement just a few minutes ago.

There was another tense moment as I scanned the room for any possible exits. Finding none, at least without revealing my being a halfa, I looked at the kids in front of me with hidden fear. My instincts kept screaming to go invisible and hide, but my mind told me to stay calm and act civilized. "Who are you?" I asked them cautiously. I already knew, but I had to keep up a clueless rep.

The Goth remained quiet, and the boy put a hand on Valerie's shoulder, signaling for silence. "I'm Tucker, and you?"

It took me a second, but I had to act civilized. Even so, they shouldn't know my name. The last person I told was killed... They shouldn't know my name. Nobody should. Being the disgusting creature I am, I don't even deserve a name.

The African American girl looked like she was going to yell at me, and the pretty one just kept staring at me. "What's your name?" the angry one interrogated.

"What's it to you?" I quipped. It was snarky, but it had to be done. People knew the name Fenton. They were some of the world's leading ghost experts and I couldn't let them know that I was really their son. Like I said before, nobody could know who or what I was. Ever. If anybody ever figured it out, my 'life' would be over. Granted, lately being killed would probably be better than living. The only reason that I didn't turn myself in was because they wouldn't just kill me. They'd torture and study me first. My death would probably be excruciatingly drawn out and painful.

Valerie was about to quip back, but Tucker cut her off, "Everyone has secrets, Valerie. You more than any of us should know that." I was starting to like this Tucker character more and more. He seemed more level-headed than the others; he also appeared to be the 'leader' of the group. Granted, he was human, so that meant that I couldn't trust him, but for a human, he seemed okay.

I shot him a small look of thanks that I'm pretty sure that the girls didn't catch, but Tucker gave me a small smirk back. "I've never seen you around here before; where are you from?"

Again, I remained silent. Nobody needed to know that, either. I just shook my head, hoping he'd get the message.

Valerie growled, and Tucker replied, "That's okay." Whether that was directed at me or the girl, I'll never know. "Like I said, everybody has their secrets. Valerie," he gestured at the angry girl.

I nodded to him, and then decided to get myself out of here. "I'll just be leaving now." I silently wished that they would just let me go and not make a fuss about it. Of course, my wish wasn't answered. As usual. The universe just loved to laugh at me.

I had grabbed my small bag of possessions, and I was about to walk out the door when Sam stopped me, "Wait!"

I turned around and looked at the Goth in confusion. She continued, "It's getting late, why don't you just stay with us for the night?" As soon as the Goth said this, the other girl glared knives at her, and the boy looked at me hopefully.

"I should really go..." I insisted.

"You should stay. Ghost activity gets higher at night, and if you leave now, to wherever you are traveling to, you might get mauled," the boy pointed out. Again, the African American girl sent a glare at the two. If I hadn't been in such a predicament, I would have probably laughed at the irony.

"I don't know..."

"We insist," Tucker told me, "We have plenty of food, and a quite a few spare beds."

The boy had me at food, though it took me a second to reply. They had no idea what they had just offered me. I hadn't eaten a real meal in weeks, and they were offering me a sort of paradise. It was beyond tempting, but as much as food would have been amazing right then, I knew that I had to get out of there. "No, no thank you," I whispered. Besides, an impure being like me shouldn't be around humans.

I walked out of the room casually as Tucker insisted again, "We really don't mind. We-" I took off running; I don't know why I...I just did. "Where are you going!?" they yelled after me. I turned into a small room in the building, and then shut and locked the door. They yelled after me, but I wasn't listening, I jumped out the window invisibly and switched forms mid-fall.

I can't be near humans. It's not good for me. It's not good for them. A disgusting creature like me should never be around pure beings like them. I am disgusting. Despicable. I don't deserve to live.

**Maddie's POV**

I lay in bed with my husband's arms around me and my daughter sleeping to the right of me. The three of us were in a small apartment in New York City. Or what used to be New York since it was raided three years ago.

I looked over at my daughter; her long orange hair strewn out over the pillow and part of Jack's arm since the bed was so small. Sleep didn't avoid her like the plague, like it did me. Even though I knew hers was a fitful one, I couldn't help but envy my daughter's ease. Ever since...ever since we lost him, things had been harder for all three of us, but Jazz had somehow been the one to stay strong. _It should have been me... _But no. I fell into a depression...a depression that still plagued me at every moment.

The same thing hit Jack with the same intensity as it did me, but he somehow found a way to cope with the pain and not dwell on it like me. I don't know how he did it, but I knew for a fact that he was still dying slowly on the inside, just like me. Ever since that day…my—our—family hadn't been whole since we lost my little boy. I didn't even see it coming...he was so young...

_I woke up after a troubled night's sleep, something didn't seem right. Call it maternal instinct, but I knew for a fact that something was not right. I jumped out of my bed, alerting my husband, Jack, pushing him out of his sleeping spell. "Maddie?" he groaned, "What's wrong?"_

_"Something doesn't seem right...I don't what it is," I mumbled to him. _

_"I'm sure it's nothing dear," he assured me in a groggy voice, "Now come back to bed."_

_"I think I'm just going to check on the kids real quick." My husband nodded at me and then rolled over in the bed. _

_I walked into the hallway, and then peered into my daughter's room. The light was on, and I saw her asleep in her bed with a book to her right. I smiled at her, and crept into the room. I picked up the book, being careful to set it by the bedside and not to lose her page—I didn't want to have to sit through that lecture again. I pulled the covers up, and she subconsciously snuggled closer to them. Turning off the light, I left the room. _

_I then tiptoed over to my son's room. The door was slightly ajar, just like always to let in the hallway light. I knew he'd never admit it, but I'm pretty sure he's afraid of the dark. It's a common fear, and I don't blame him for it, especially in the world that we live in. _

_I crept into the room, making sure not to wake him. Something about the scene seemed off to me as I advanced the bed. _

_It was empty. _

_My eyes widened as I got closer to it. "JACK!" I screamed. I heard him running into the room as I continued screaming, "Where's DANNY! DANNY!" _

_We ran up and down that stupid apartment, looking for something, a sign. Eventually, I made it to the portal room. The portal. It was open. Why was it open? I then fell to the floor and wept, murmuring 'no' over and over and over again. _

_A ghost did this. A ghost stole my son from me. _

I shuddered as the memory passed, a single tear falling down my features. The ghosts did this to my family.

We continued to search everywhere for Danny, but subconsciously I knew that we weren't going to find him...and that destroyed me every single day—every second—that I lived. I knew a ghost did this. It is going to pay. PAY! There was one ghost that had showed up every day since we opened that portal that just happened to disappear the day my baby boy did. That ghost is going to pay.

Phantom is going to pay.

* * *

><p><strong>Good? Bad? Ugly? I won't know unless you review!<strong>

**Don't worry, encounters between them will continue. Believe it or not, I do have a plan for this story...finally!**

**The other thing I wanted to ask you guys was if you wanted me to get deeper into Danny's family. I think I will, because they will play a bigger role as the story goes on. Tell me what you think.**

**And the trivia question:**

**In which episode do we see Fento bismol?**

**I need a name, not a discription.**

**I don't know when I'll update next...but I should have some time to write during Christmas break...which is coming up a lot faster than I thought it would. **

**~Pheek**

**Please review.**


	8. Both Mental and Physical Explotions

**Well...that was a long hiatus...sorry 'bout that...**

**I'd like to promise that won't happen again, but I don't think I can. What I CAN do is tell you that I finally have a good plot worked out, and it is driving my muse crazy. **

**Anyways, I want to thank my awesome beta reader, obsessivereader95, who makes this story readable and enjoyable. Thank you so much! **

**Also, I want to thank everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited/is-putting-up-with-my-ridiculously-long-hiatuses you guys are awesome!**

**On a lighter note, here's the answer to the trivia question! "Forever Phantom"**

**And the winners are...**

**BriarJem**

**Dragonian Master**

**MasterofAwesome1**

**Phantom Ice**

**Nice job to those who got it, and good luck next time to those who didn't!**

**Quick little facts about what has been going on:**

**1. Danny met the others, but left promptly after (ran away).**

**2. Maddie despises Phantom because she thinks he kidnapped Danny.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom! If I did, Phantom Planet wouldn't have happened!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Both Mental and Physical Explosions Are Dangerous<strong>

**Maddie's POV**

The chiming of the clock was all that kept me sane as I lay sleepless in the small bed, wedged between my beautiful daughter-asleep on her side-and my gigantic husband-slumped over me. And yet, despite the constant pressure of my two most treasured loved ones, I couldn't help but feel depressed. I didn't take comfort in the fact that I was with them: it made me feel worse. It just made me miss Danny more.

My beautiful baby boy, falling victim to my fight. Ghosts were something Jack and I were supposed to handle. Danny was never supposed to be harmed. Damn Phantom.

For so many years, I had used this time to think about ways I would capture that ghost, interrogate him, torture him, use him to find my son, and then end his pitiful existence in the most painful way possible.

But only now had I realized the fatal error in my plan. I'd have to find him first.

Jack and I had made our fair share of ghost trackers, but without the ecto-signature of the certain specimen you craved, it wouldn't do anything for you. A blip was a blip after all. I could chase after every single one for the rest of my life and never find that Phantom.

Sometimes I wondered if it was even worth fighting this battle.

* * *

><p><strong>Vlad's POV<strong>

Taking over this pitiful world was easier than winning a game of chess. After all, it is in a human's nature to obey the being obviously more powerful than itself.

Granted, they also have that nasty habit of not knowing their place in this world, which would ultimately cause a rebellion—really quite funny when you think of it. The ant can't harm the rhino.

The whole thought process of a human was laughably foolish. They rebelled against themselves. They were so insolent that they didn't even realize I could simply crush them and still make it home in time for the evening meal.

My existence was perfect. Well, almost. I missed one thing. In my plan, I left out one crucial detail that mocked me to no end. I had no queen. And with no queen, there is no heir.

There was only one human that was different from the rest, only one who knew how to plan and not leave anything out. I knew exactly how to get to her. I just needed to find the one she was looking for.

I watched her all the time, though she didn't know it. Humans can be so oblivious. She and that oaf she fell 'in love' with believed that I hadn't a clue where they were, but I always knew. After all, I know everything.

Everything but the one thing I need: where that damn son of hers was! He had slipped past my surveillance both here and in the Ghost Zone. (Ghosts bowed to whoever had the most power, and with the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage, that was me. Stupid, insolent creatures really.)

I'd know if he was dead. There'd be some sort of record, or at least his ghost—a child from that family had to have something that kept him here. That brat was the only reason I didn't have Maddie.

True, I could simply take her, but it wasn't just her I wanted. I wanted her love. And she was numb to love without her son. Plus, with her son on my side, I could either use him as bait to get her here or use him to convince her to come to me. The second would work relatively well if he was dead, being that I had in my possession the scepter from the Showenhower line. Frederick Isak, or Freakshow as he preferred, was currently locked up. He knew too much about ghostly items to be turned loose on the human terrain, but at the same time he was too much of an asset to exterminate.

My patience was growing thin, and my lust for the woman I loved and should rightfully own was increasing at an undefined slope. If I didn't have that brat soon, I was just going to take her; she loves me after all. We were always the ones everyone thought would get together. Not that bumbling Jack Fenton. That man was the reason for both my unhappiness and my success.

If it weren't for him, then I'd have Maddie, but if it weren't for him, then I'd never have ascended into this higher form of living. His imbecility was the reason for everything. And as soon as I had Maddie, I'd kill him. He was just vine that needed to be snipped.

With Maddie at my side and Jack dead, there was only one missing link—Jasmine Fenton. Her brother would be dealt with when the time came, but Jasmine held many of the qualities of her mother, and exterminating her would be like doing the same to my dear Madeline, a thought that simply made me nauseous. Imprisonment was an option, but that, too, left me feeling sick. And I couldn't just let her run around on her own as she may try to rebel, which would eventually lead into the same two sick options.

She could be a squire maybe. Or a maid. Maybe I'd let Madeline choose what's right for her daughter. That would make her happy. And that would make her want to love me more; she'd see I was passionate towards her family. Maybe I don't need the boy. Maybe all I need is Jasmine.

I rule the world, I don't need maybes. Jasmine is my key to Maddie. My existence is going to get much better, much sooner than I'd thought.

* * *

><p><strong>Danny's POV<strong>

My eyes slid open, and I took in my surroundings. So many times I'd wished to open my eyes and be home, but that never seemed to happen—monsters don't have homes.

After last night's events with those humans, I'd come to the decision to head to the Ghost Zone. I could blend in for a while. My stomach grumbled in protest to the plan. But if I starved to death, that'd be better for the world. Nobody would have to deal with this freak ever again.

I changed forms, masking my ecto-signature. If they found me again, I don't think I'd have enough self-control to say no. The human longing for comfort is something that all people want.

But I wasn't human. I was a freak. Denied life, but not given death. The curse of living a lie. Of a living hell. That stupid portal ruined everything. Plasmius ruined everything. I ruined my family.

But they weren't my family anymore. I'd let them go. I let them live life so that they never would have to go through what I have to go through. They were too good for me. I'm a demon.

While flying invisibly through the graffiti littered streets, I shook my head. A halfa ordered this. A halfa took part in this. A halfa was the reason that so many innocent human lives had been taken. It was only a matter of time before I did that exact same thing. The thought sent a sick feeling into the pit of my perpetually empty stomach.

But that emotion, that thought of hope, of resolution, was a lie. I should like death. It's in my nature. Greed. Lust. Gluttony. I should grow fat on the ideas of pain and despair. But for some reason I only felt wretched. I flew faster in anger at myself. "Why can't you just be normal," I murmured in self-hatred.

That's when I saw it: Axion Labs, or what was left of it. My parents—Jack and Maddie, had talked about the place in great detail, saying that it was the key to everything, saying that if we were ever able to get there, they might be able to help the rebellion effort. It was just a rumor at the time, but when it was destroyed, it got global coverage. Years from then, it'd be in history books as the last town with hope. Lots of hope now, there are only seven inhabitants left. If they hadn't been so stupid, then maybe they'd still be on the map.

I almost flew past the place, but curiosity gripped me by the collar and pulled me inside. Everything was trashed. Fried, decaying bodies were strewn about under rubble and ashes. Shadows of people darkened every one of the walls left standing. The whole place could have been a set for a sci-fi movie.

I shook my head, if only they'd have given in. I jumped into the air, and I was about to leave when a sight struck me.

A hatch.

There was a hatch in the floor.

I leapt down and cautiously sauntered toward it.

It was amazing that I had even seen it as the whole thing was covered in rubble and dismembered human parts. Pushing that aside, I grasped the handle, turned it, and with the help of my abnormal strength, it opened with a whine.

Though common sense told me otherwise, I entered the dark space, using the glow of an ecto-ball to guide me. I easily went through twenty feet before running into the butt of a gun. I turned to speed out, but the guns were everywhere. Bazookas. Grenade launchers. Sniper rifles. All enhanced with ecto energy aligned the walls. I looked forward to see a tank. Parked and ready to go.

They were going to fight.

Those crazy citizens had lost their lives for a hopeless cause.

But even though there were no humans to man these weapons, this whole place made me nervous. Making sure my ecto-signature was covered, I switched to my human form, knowing it was the best method to avoid triggering something. Who knows what kind of safeguards these lunatics had put in place.

Stepping as carefully as possible, I headed for the exit, where I made my fatal move.

I stepped on a mine.

I cursed then froze, too nervous to move. Sweat dripped from my forehead in the split second I had to think through my entire existence.

This was how it was going to end. I had always wondered. In a way, that split second was painful, but it was also bliss. I was finally going to be free. Intangibility didn't even come to mind.

And then, a sea of white faded to black. A screeching boom became a whine, which turned into a meaningful silence. Everything and nothing came after that split second. But that didn't matter.

Resisting was hopeless after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Good? Bad? Ugly? I won't know unless you review!<strong>

**This issue's trivia question is: **

**In what episode does Lancer inform Jazz that he was a cheerleader when he went to Casper High? (my favorite episode!)**

**I always feel so diabolical when I end with cliffhanger! It's so exhilarating!**

**~Pheek**

**Please review.**


	9. Ripped Away

**Didn't think it's been six months...wow...**

**Anyways, this chapter is setting up the scene for the major plot of the story-thank you to all of those who have put up with me for this long!**

**And the answer to the trivia question is... My Brother's Keeper! The winners are...**

**PhantomHeart22**

**Reptainlove**

**The Half-Blood Guardian**

**I'd like to thank my amazing beta reader **obsessivereader95** for putting up with my slowness and making this story readable! You're amazing!**

**Disclaimer: I...I don't own Danny Phantom...That's depressing.**

**A Hopeless Cause**

**Chapter 9: Ripped Away**

* * *

><p><strong>Jazz's POV<strong>

Cold wrapped its bitter, freezing hands around me. I reached down to the end of the bed I shared with my parents to grab what I thought would be a blanket. Imagine my surprise when I realized I was already covered in blankets.

Darkness. It was night after all, so it should be dark. And yet the room faintly glowed. My eyes began to flutter open, and I groaned as the light burned into them. Mom and Dad must be up.

"Turn the light off," I murmured, thinking they had simply turned it on to do a routine check through the apartment. They were slightly paranoid about my safety, and rightfully so, especially after...

Ugh, it's too early to think about this kind of stuff. I rolled to my side with a groan, but the light remained on. My eyes scanned the walls as they slowly adjusted to the brighter setting. The shadows didn't make any sense. Everything looked so...eerie.

Rubbing the drowsiness out of my eyes, I sat up to get a better look. To my surprise, the overhead light in the room wasn't on, and neither was the lamp.

Looking to the left, I realized both my parents were gone.

Looking to the right, I saw it.

A beast! A ghost! I screamed and jumped out of the bed, grabbing my Ecto-Pistol as I stood up. It looked like a prison guard of sorts, armed with a staff that looked like it would give you a nasty shock if you ran into it.

"G-get back! I-I-I'm trained with this!" I said, waving the pistol. Every bit of my body shook.

"Puny human. I'm under instructions to bring you in. Come with me or be forced." Its voice was machinelike. I backed up, hitting the wall behind me, and it began to close in.

"MOM! DAD!" I screamed as I waved the blaster out in front of me. There was no answer, but... but that meant... Did they already have my parents? I felt my only defense fall from my hands, terror taking its place.

The door opened but I didn't want to believe what I saw. A ghost had Mom around the middle with her arms restrained. Dad, on the other hand, was in a fireman's carry over a ghost's shoulder, knocked out. My mom looked at me intently, willing me to relax. I tried to get a solution out of her but she simply shook her head. Hopelessness filled me. We'd been running for so long. We'd lost Danny, but we were captured anyways.

The ghost slid cuffs over my shaking hands and within moments we were off. Though I felt tears on my cheeks and fear in my eyes, everything was numb.

So this is how it ends...

* * *

><p><strong>Sam's POV<strong>

We were eating breakfast when it happened. Such a normal thing, breakfast. Cereal. Milk. I thought back to the normal times in my life when I'd have eggs or pancakes. Now, I ate cans of peaches. Everyone around me was so calm and collected. Peaches were normal—peaches were better than normal. Those around me who'd been living like this most of their lives drank the sweet nectar out of the bottom of the can like a little kid ate chocolate; this was a treat for them.

All of their faces were happy and bright, until it happened.

Paulina, Star, Dash, and Kwan screamed. Everyone jumped out of their skins as a loud BANG filled the room.

An explosion.

My ears rang as I watched Tucker drop his can and run to the window. His eyes went as wide as saucers.

"Axion," he murmured.

Valerie looked at him with an expression of terror. "Tucker, we need to get out of here."

"How do they know we're here?!" Star screamed.

Tucker grabbed one of our below-grade blasters. How he remained even relatively collected I will never understand. "It was probably that ghost last night. We should have left the moment he did. We have five minutes to get out of the city, maybe less. Let's go!"

I frantically grabbed my backpack, trying to follow in Tucker's calm footsteps but failing for the most part. The others, in a panic, grabbed food and the few blasters we had before leading the way out. Tucker shot me a glance and we grabbed the remaining stuff. Valerie had taken the others out, and we treaded out quickly behind them.

"Ah!" I turned around when I heard the scream. Tucker had tripped and fallen. I quickly went to his aid. "Ow! My foot!" Whether he sprained it or broke it, it didn't matter. What _mattered_ was getting him mobile again.

"C'mon," I urged, putting one of his arms over my shoulders and helping him along.

Five minutes, though a long time when waiting in line, is not a long time when running for your life. The ghosts appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Tucker and me. I could see the rest of the group way ahead of us, and Valerie looked back in fright. "RUN!" Tucker screamed. Though I could see tears forming in her eyes, she led the group off into the distance.

"Quick," Tucker suggested, "Go into an alley! Our best shot is to hide." Before we reached cover, a guard-like ghost appeared in front of us.

"And where do you think you are going?" He lifted his hand, about to blast us, but a voice stopped him.

"Stop!" A ghost with a red cape, a black skull cap, and an eye patch flew up next to the other. Tucker and I stood petrified in our boots. I noticed a figure with stark white hair wearing a jumpsuit draped over the ghost's shoulder. "Plasmius has orders to keep any survivors of Amity Park alive for questioning."

The ghost in front of us huffed and nodded. He proceeded to violate every personal space rule ever established and grabbed us before taking off into the air.

I clung to the ghost's armor for dear life. I would have screamed, but I found myself mute. The sensory overload from flying hit me like a brick wall, and before I knew it, I passed out.

* * *

><p><strong>Vlad's POV<strong>

I smirked. Could everything really play into my hands this easily? I leaned back in the recliner. Puny humans. They were so easy to trick. And after all this, Madeline would be all mine. She'd have no choice.

She gave up, making her oaf of a 'husband' back down as soon as they were surrounded. With her wisdom, she had seen that fighting was a hopeless cause. True, it may take her awhile to shake off the thought of "loving" Jack, but it'd be a quick enough transition. The love she felt for him wasn't real. Nobody can love a bumbling oaf.

Madeline existed on a higher plane of existence than that man. She had evolved past the normal human, understanding the world around her much better than any I'd ever seen. I smiled. She'd come to me like a dog does its master.

"King Plasmius."

I swiveled around and looked at the ghost in front of me. "Is my queen ready for me to see her?" I asked, expecting that to be what he wished to tell me.

"She wants a little bit more time to say goodbye to her family."

A scowl crossed my face. "How much more time is this going to take! Get her out of there before the hour ends, do you understand me?!"

"Of course, sir." He bowed. "There is another bit of news that you may be interested in."

"What?" I asked crossly.

"Sector 27A was patrolling the Amity Park division this morning when they came across a bomb that had just gone off. Upon investigation, they came across Phantom and two other children. The children are in the dungeons awaiting interrogation, but the guards containing Phantom would like to know what to do with him."

I jumped out of my chair and into the air in front of my soldier. "Bring me to him now, you imbecile! If he awakens and gets away before I can get to him because you neglected to tell me soon enough, there will be consequences! Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." I could tell he was biting back a comment, but I let it slide.

A smirk crossed my face as we exited my chambers. Yes, life certainly was an easy haul. I had Jasmine to win me Madeline's love and "the friendly ghost" to exterminate.

Everything was as it should be.

* * *

><p><strong>Good? Bad? Ugly? I won't know unless you review!<strong>

**This issues trivia question is... Who says, "I don't do puny!" I need a name, not a description. I know, it's _really _hard.**

**My muse is attacking me and school is throwing finals at me...I have no idea when I'll update! But it is almost summer, so it should be sooner rather than later!**

**Please review.**

**~Pheek**


	10. Some Say

**Hey guys! Not as long of a wait as usual, thank goodness!**

**This story is making my muse crazy. My ideas for it are bounding over the walls of their containment cell so I had to build a bigger one. This could have been posted in the middle of July but I wasn't sure about the ending of the chapter. Thanks to the help of my amazing beta reader **obsessivereader95 **who PMed back and forth with me for a while to straighten out my thoughts, I finally went with what you see here. I'm sure you'll understand my hesitation as soon as you read it.**

**And now for the answer to the trivia question: **Dash.** He says "I don't do puny!" in Micro-Management (S2E13) The winners are...**

SailorSea

Zinnia99

Funnybombninja

Bebe

**Congrats to those who got it and good luck next time to those who didn't!**

**I want to thank all those that follow/favorite/review! ****I also want to thank my amazing beta reader **obsessivereader95 **who put up with me through the editing phase of this chapter.**

**One last thing before the disclaimer (Sorry!). I came across this DVD to be release 10/7/14 called **_Danny Phantom: Ghost Hunter_ **on Shout!Factory. I can't find anything about it in the phanbase, Butch Hartman's twitter page, or even Imdb. Am I going crazy or do you guys know anything about this? Is it just a hallucination that only appears on my laptop? Here's the link: ** product/danny-phantom-ghost-hunter****

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. Seriously, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction if I owned the real thing?**

* * *

><p><strong>A Hopeless Cause<strong>

**Chapter 10: Some Say**

**Danny's POV**

I woke up. Dammit. Just when I thought an end was in sight, I fricking wake up! Is it too much to ask for an end? I stared at the metal floor. Wait. Metal? I was in Amity Park: the only flooring there was rubble.

Looking up, I examined my current predicament with a hopeless feeling. Why even fight? If whoever caught me wished to kill me, so be it; we'd both have the same goal. From what I could tell, I was in a containment unit inside of a lab/prison thingy of some sort. If the ghost shield and bullet proof glass weren't enough to keep my kidnapper thinking I couldn't get out, I was locked in a chair with ghost proof bonds over my wrists, ankles, and neck. I sniffed. All it would take would be a blast of ecto-energy and a wail and I'd be out of here in a snap. The only thing holding me back would be the fact that this could be the end I was looking for; no more of this half-existing crap, just death in all its beauty.

Beyond the glass and shield were about ten guards. He did realize I wasn't going to fight back, right? Who had the nerve to pull something like this anyway? That's when a figure floated up in front of my cage, and my answer came in the form of a stupid little smile: Plasmius. "Ah, Phantom, I was wondering if you'd ever wake up."

I didn't even warrant him a facial response, giving his egotistical self a blank stare.

"What, no witty banter?"

Still no response.

"You always used to do that when you appeared and what was it...? Fought ghosts?" He laughed slightly. "Why would you fight your own kind?"

I kept up the blank stare and asked a question of my own in a flat voice, "What do you want?"

He huffed, "So to the point." The halfa began to pace. "What do I want...? hmm... let's see... I want to know why you are so different from the rest of your kind."

I rolled my eyes and grumbled, "Like I would even know."

He shook his head and whispered in a voice that I'm pretty sure he didn't expect me to hear, "I'm dealing with a teenager." I smirked slightly. Somehow, seeing the only other member of my species irritated made me feel just a twinge of happiness. But what did I even know of happiness? I don't feel those emotions; what I felt was a mock happiness playing off of my ghostly urge to see another hurt. Why didn't he just kill me already? "You're not a halfa. That much I know for sure. Despite the impossibility of the creation of another perfect being like me, you would have defaulted to your human form when you passed out."

I tried not to show the deep emptiness I felt dig in even further as Plasmius listed more and more reasons why it'd be impossible for me to be a halfa. Was I really that much of a freak that my own kind didn't even recognize me? Could I really be so screwed up that most of the things that had to be factually true about a halfa weren't even true for me? If I'm not even a halfa... what am I?

"...so the only plausible theory is that you are an extremely old ghost. Phantom, just how old are you?" Plasmius looked at me expectantly, as if he thought I'd answer without a fight.

I remained silent. All I wanted from Plasmius was for him to kill me, screw him if he thought we should chat first. He glared at me, "Oh, I'm sorry! Did you think this was optional? Bullet, do it."

I mentally smiled. The end was finally here. But what I expected to be a quick end was really about two minutes of electrocution that made me feel as though everything was falling apart from the inside. I screamed, but the end just wouldn't come. When it stopped and I was still 'living', I sent an evil look at Plasmius and spat some ectoplasm at the ground. "Just kill me, Plasmius."

"What was that?" he feigned curiosity. He did the whole emotion thing a lot better than me.

"I'm not going to answer any of your stupid questions, so just kill me already," I explained through gritted teeth.

He laughed and smiled, "Is that what you want from me?" He laughed louder at my silence. "You're a ghost, Phantom. You're already dead. Now if you wanted me to destroy you, well, I suppose that's off the table." I couldn't help but close my eyes and let my shoulders drop. The end still wasn't here...

"You almost seem disappointed by that," Plasmius observed. "Using your terms, why do you want me to kill you, Phantom? It goes against a ghost's nature for self-preservation..."

Great, just another way I'm different. I didn't warrant him a response. He wasn't going to give me what I wanted, so I might as well get out of here. I let the energy grow inside of me while Plasmius, noticing my actions said, "It's no use, those bonds are ghost proof." Was that a tremor in his voice? Hilarious.

I let the energy blow out of me in a sphere-like fashion and the restraints were instantly broken. The ghost shield had fallen and guards passed out from the blast. All that was between me and Plasmius was a flimsy piece of glass. I didn't even have to use my wail. I phased through it and got right in Plasmius's face. "There's nothing more to discuss."

Jumping into the air, I decided to phase through the roof when something tugged on me, not physically but mentally. Was that even possible? I fell to the ground as my powers started malfunctioning. "What the hell?"

"I'm not done, Phantom, even if _you_ think we're done. Please, sit," he smirked maliciously as my body took a seat without my consent. When I tried to move, I realized I couldn't.

"How are you doing that?" I asked, trying not to let my fear show through. Maybe I did have a bit of self-preservation... No, it's just a decision that if I'm going to die, it's not going to be at the hands of a fruit loop like him.

He brought what I had just realized had been an invisible hand out from behind his back. In it, he held a staff with a red sphere that had to be the most captivating thing I'd ever seen. I fumbled over my words, trying to pull my eyes away from that beautiful, beautiful orb. I heard Plasmius's distant laugh and then he hid it from view again.

Snapping out of my trance, I backed up and almost knocked over the table behind me. Unable to understand, I let out a vulnerable, "What?"

He laughed again, "Did you really think that I didn't know you could get out of there? I'm half-human, not stupid. What you just saw was the Showenhower Orb. Are you familiar with it?" I shook my head, just wishing to see it again. "Before I took control of this pigsty of a world, a man by the name of Frederich Isak Showenhower had it in his possession. He used the thing to run a circus. A simpleton, really. It was created by his family back in the late seventeen hundreds and gives the holder the ability to control ghosts."

With those words, I snapped out of my trance and tried to flee, only to be pulled back in again by that beautiful, cursed orb! "I may not be able to gain enough power over you to probe your mind for the answers I need, but this thing has plenty of power to take over your body. Welcome to servitude, Phantom," Plasmius smirked. I let out one last controlled gasp and then the red overtook everything.

* * *

><p><strong>Maddie's POV<strong>

Nobody's eyes were dry as we sat in a jail-like room in Vlad's- no- Plasmius's castle. Chains around my husband's and my daughter's ankles and hands kept them still. I held them tight, never wishing to let go, hoping, just hoping, that maybe if I held them tight enough and closed my eyes we would be back home. A home where Danny was with us, and Vlad didn't rule the world, where things were as simple as ghosts and humans. But that could never be...no matter how badly I wished it.

"Jack, I'm so sorry, I—" I began.

He stopped me, saying, "Maddie, don't blame yourself. We'll be okay." We both looked over at our daughter whose tears were innumerable. She was so young—she could have any life she wanted in a simple world...if only...

"Mom," Jazz piped up, shaking her head, "Don't feel guilty, please. Make something good out of this. Don't...don't dwell on us..." Her tears expanded and she buried her head in the crook of my neck.

"I am going to do whatever it takes to get you two released, understand?" I told her, trying to make her see some sort of hope. The guard had said that Plasmius and I were going to be wed and that I had five minutes to say goodbye to the 'miserable human wretches'.

Jack looked at me, the happiness that was once abundant in his eyes had faded to nothing, but they flared as he said, "I...I'm not very good at these sorts of things...but I love you Maddie—don't you forget it."

"Oh, Jack!" I held him tighter.

"Maddie," he looked into my eyes, "no matter what he makes you do—"

"I'll make sure he doesn't! I'll—" I sobbed.

"No matter what he makes you do," he continued, "I will always still love you."

My sorrows overflowed as I looked at what was left of my broken family. Broken but still loving. "I love you, too, Jack," I whispered, closing my eyes.

We sat in that silent clump but it was not long enough before a voice froze the blood in my veins, "Madeline! Are you ready to go?" It was a happy voice. An enthusiastic voice, like that of child wanting to play. It's owner didn't understand the meaning of love, of belonging. He was a wretched, broken being who'd lost the right path and chosen one of lies instead.

"No," I whispered, not wanting to leave my true family. I kissed Jack and Jazz on their foreheads and murmured my last, "I love you," to which they responded similarly with tones drenched in sadness. I stood, guarding my chained family behind me. "Can you please just let them go?" I asked desperately.

The halfa floated down to me and narrowed its eyes. "Why would I do that?"

"I..." I looked back at them, tears dripping from my eyes like a faucet, and when I turned back Plasmius was directly in front of me. He took one of his black gloved fingers and wiped away my tears. I did my best not to flinch at the touch.

"Would it make you happy?" he asked in a flat tone and all I could do was nod.

He turned away and clenched his fists. "I'll make you a deal." He sounded as though he were talking through clenched teeth. "I will let your daughter go, but Jack..." He paused for one long, agonizing moment. "But that oaf shall be imprisoned temporarily until I come to a verdict."

Jazz would be safe but Jack...I couldn't do that to him! Plasmius would kill him if he stayed here. I looked back at him to see Jack nodding and Jazz watching in horror. I choked back a sob, "Okay, Plasmius, I'll take that deal."

"Good," he grumbled and waved to the guards to do his biddings. Before I knew it, the last two members of my family departed from my life. I felt the hole inside of me grow; I already missed them more than could be described with words. Must everything in life be so painful? These were the times I felt the urge to give up—the urge to die... Oh please, if there's anybody listening, please just kill me!

"And now that we have that sorted out, how about I have someone show you to your chambers, hmm?" His soulless eyes froze my blood and I fought the urge to cry. I had to stay strong, for Jazz's sake. Despite how much I wished it, Jack wasn't going to be here long and she's going to be out in that horrible world all alone. I...I couldn't give up...I couldn't die. I had to fight for my baby girl's sake. I wasn't going to let another one of my children fall victim to this putrid world.

I had to smile and nod; I had to fool the monster in front of me that my true husband and I had so haplessly created.

"Very good." The halfa didn't even notice my strain and his cold, wet lips pressed against my forehead in a demeaning fashion. The urge to push him back couldn't have been any stronger. He turned away from me and with the staff in his right hand, he waved over another one of his ghost minions from the shadows. "Madeline, you probably already know him, but this is Phantom, he will be your protector from here on out. Wherever you go, he will follow." He smiled, and I just stood frigid in horror as I watched piercing red eyes staring at me from behind a mop of white hair. My son's kidnapper, right in front of me. Plasmius seemed to notice my discomfort and said, "Don't worry, my dear Madeline, he's under my control now. I'll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast, I have a few more loose ends to tie up before the day ends. Phantom, bring her to her chambers, and if anything or anyone harms her, your afterlife will be over before you can so much as turn one cell intangible."

"Yes, Master." The voice was almost robotic, lacking the jest I remember it having from the few times I saw him. What was I missing? Plasmius sent me one more 'loving' smile and then Phantom looked at me and said, "Follow me."

I looked around for something to beat this monster called Phantom over the head with. He was the reason Danny was ripped away from me! He caused it all! ALL! The guards lining the walls stared at us in a way that made me feel as though if I didn't move they were going to make me, Plamius's future...bride...or not. It sickened me to the core, but I took that step and I followed Phantom, because I had no other choice...because staying strong for Jazz or not, resisting was hopeless after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Sam's POV<strong>

I looked over at Tucker. It was amazing how little I really knew about the kid. True, I hadn't known him that long and I'm no social butterfly by any definition, but I wish I knew him better, being that he would be the last person I'd ever see before I died.

All things considered, I'd never pictured the end like this...I guess I always thought that maybe Plasmius would be taken out and everything could go back to normal. I guess that kind of optimistic thinking could never prove true. Life just kind of sucks that way. Maybe if I'd have just stayed in Florida, none of this would have happened. I could have stayed in that cave until this hell was over and my dream life would have come true... Like I ever would have stayed. As much as I enjoyed the life of a hermit, I always knew that I was meant to fight against the evil monster leading us, and look where that got me. Better than hiding, though. It doesn't matter how far you push your problems away, they will always creep up from the shadows to attack.

With a mental sigh, I began to look over the room. Basically, it looked like your standard interrogation room, a lot like the ones in movies, except instead of seeing it from the safety of a TV screen, I got the five sense experience complete with a gagged mouth and binds connecting to a chair. Joyful, really.

I looked over at Tucker, his kind eyes trying to tell me it was all going to be okay. Even in this stressful situation, he was still trying to keep me calm. Even from the little that I knew of him, I had a feeling that if he weren't gagged, he'd make some cheesy joke to lighten the mood. Though his eyes did help, I could use a cheesy joke right about now.

I sighed and stared at the ceiling, trying to think about how hard I was going to punch the first thing that unbound me. Because I would fight. Some say it's hopeless, but I would fight to the end, no matter what.

This average ghost—the police-looking kind—had questioned us extensively, but we remained silent. He knew our names already, and that was enough to let him know that we couldn't be released. Now we just sat here in this less-than-Hollywood-magic interrogation room, waiting for Plasmius to lay down an order for us. Of course, that meant we would be killed—I've heard the stories. But, like I said before, I'm not going down without a fight. I, Sam Manson, would be remembered for not giving in to thinking it's hopeless.

When Plasmius floated through the door with two files, I gave him the worst glare I could muster. The 'king', wasting time for a couple of low lives like us; I'm touched. Then again, we were found in Amity Park, an area known for being the last to give in—it only doing so after being blown off the map. Six known survivors. The fact that they still stayed strong should be enough to give anybody hope. It gave it to me.

"I'm a very busy man," Plasmius began, "My gut instinct was to just kill the both of you, but where's the fun it that?" He smiled at us, showing off his fangs. I honestly think I've seen more humanity in a toothpick. "Not to mention, I'm in a good mood today, lucky for you. Tucker Foley, is it?" Tucker nodded. "Since you are the only one actually from Amity Park here, I think you should go first." He waved to a guard who undid Tucker's gag. "Do you understand your crimes?"

"No." It was simple yet defiant.

Plasmius huffed. "Treat me with respect boy, I am your king." I could tell Tucker had something nasty to spit back at the halfa but instead just narrowed his eyes. Plasmius opened the file. "You were living in a restricted area, survived a scheduled extermination, and resisted arrest more times than can fit on one page. Oh! And let's not forget your ties to Axion. You- let me get this straight- helped your parents with the designing and building of new weapons technology at the ripe young age of seven up until you were ten from the comfort of your home?" Tucker continued to glare silently. "That's too many charges than can even be covered! You really have been a bad boy. You know I should kill you, right?"

"Then why don't you?" Tucker tested.

Plasmius smiled. "Because I like making examples out of people." I could tell he tried to fight it, but Tucker's eyes visibly widened as Plasmius began to walk over to him. The monster snapped over at a guard who had an evil smirk on his face and held Tucker's mouth firmly open. Plasmius's hand entered the boy's mouth and grabbed onto his tongue. Tucker squirmed back, trying to get away, but it was too late. My eyes shut themselves and my gag suppressed my angry screams. I tried to bust out of my own binds, hoping, praying that my efforts would somehow help my friend. The tearing noises and Tucker's gurgled scream were enough to let me visualize the scene. Oh my God! NO! Tucker!

"Now it's your turn my dear." Plasmius walked over to me and undid my gag. My breathing was heavy and I had to practically force myself not to scream or cry. It's not hopeless. It's not hopeless. It's not hopeless! I looked over at Tucker, the person who'd been keeping me calm, screaming and doing his best not to choke on his own blood. "Samantha Manson, I presume." How could Plasmius be so calm after what he just did?!

I don't think my eyes could get any narrower, but I'm not sure whether it was from anger or fear. "Don't worry my dear, your tongue is safe. You're one of the millionaire's children. Your parents may have been powerful but you are like an ant on my radar. Unlike Tucker here, you don't have any secrets that you could possibly spew. So here's what I'm going to do. Because I am in such a good mood today, I'm not going to kill you or your friend here. What I am going to do is stick you both in the factories. We need more workers after all." I continued to glare at him as he walked out of the room. "C'mon, don't be like that. Be grateful I'm so gracious."

I felt like screaming at Plasmius, but that's not what Tucker would want. I looked over at my friend in horror as blood poured out of his mouth like a fountain. I tried to be calm, but how could I? "Just hang in there Tucker." I closed my eyes, my will to fight draining. Reality hit me like a bat, that monster just pulled out his tongue! Tears pricked my eyes and I could feel a scream getting ready to come out. I pulled hopelessly at my restraints.

Hopelessly. We were ants to him! How could we possibly win a war against a being like that? Maybe...maybe it really is hopeless.

NO! Some say that it's hopeless! Some may say that this kind of event should destroy hope in even a crazy person like me...but me? No. I was filled with a feeling of rage like no other. This couldn't go on anymore because this. Was. Wrong. I would stick with the silent rule for now, but when I got the chance, I would speak out, for both Tucker and me. And for Valerie, and my parents, and all the people from Amity because someone had to. Maybe I couldn't do anything right now, but I would have a hand in stopping this because nobody messes with my friends and gets away with it. That monster was going to pay for what he did.

* * *

><p><strong>Good? Bad? Ugly? I won't know unless you review!<strong>

**You guys starting to understand why I didn't post right away? Yeah...Give your input/rage/twisted joy in a review! **

**And the trivia question: **What episode does Amorpho appear in? **I need a name, not a description. I know, it's REALLY hard.**

**If anybody knows anything about the** _Danny Phantom: Ghost Hunter _**DVD, I would greatly appreciate it. **

**I'd like to think that I'll update soon.**

**Please review!**

**~Pheek out**


End file.
